ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Tablets are the most frequently administered solid oral dosage forms in contemporary practice. Tablets consist of a mixture of powders or granules that are compacted in the die of a tablet press. Even though the popularity of directly compressible materials has increased, many powders are granulated to overcome the difficulties in obtaining an acceptable tablet dosage form and meeting the product specifications. The most challenging task in a tableting process is to achieve a constant volume of homogenous mixture to flow into the tablet die cavity. Unfortunately, most powder materials do not have inherently good flow properties. This, in turn, demands changing the physical characteristics of the powder or improving the design of the tablet press (1). Therefore, granulation becomes an integral part of a pharmaceutical process that attempts to improve powder-flow characteristics.
