Pharmaceutical tablet hardness testing (or more correctly known as diametral/diametrical crushing strength) is a way of measuring the quality of tablets. Merlin uses tablet hardness testing to calculate the tensile strength of tablets to assess the manufacturability and compactibility of formulations.
This is an add on test for our compaction studies.
Tablet hardness can serve as a guide for product development and as a quality-control specification. The tablets should not be too hard or too soft, as a hard tablet could prevent the dissolution of the tablet, which is needed for an accurate dosage. However, if the tablet is too soft it could lead to quick disintegration, and it can easily chip or break during packaging and transport.
Factors that could affect the hardness of tablets are:
To investigate the hardness of a tablet, we use a Holland C50.
We test the hardness by placing the tablet between two jaws. One of the jaws then moves towards the tablet pushing it against the fixed jaw until the tablet breaks. The load at which the tablet fails across the diameter is then recorded.
If you are looking into hardness testing, you may want to also consider some related testing services, including API characterisation and manufacturing prediction to look at the tabletability of your material.
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