Evaluation of the effect of some additives on the efficiency of binder liquid in wet agglomeration of crystals

Objective: Wet agglomeration is a process wherein dispersed particles are held together in an aggregated form by the presence of a small quantity of solvent which acts as binder liquid. In this work, the efficiency of binder liquid was tested in the presence of various additives. Methods: Solid state of carbamazepine (CBZ) agglomerates was characterized by DSC and FT-IR. The obtained agglomerates were also investigated in terms of yield, size distribution, friability, and drug release. Results: CBZ agglomerates formed only in the presence of talc, span, and croscarmellose sodium (CCS), whereas ethyl cellulose and eudragit RS100 failed to make CBZ agglomerates. The presence of talc decreased the agglomerate size and produced CBZ agglomerates with a poor strength. However, span and CCS led to larger agglomerates with superior strength. In contrast to CCS samples, span and talc altered the dissolution rate of CBZ. FT-IR results showed that there is an interaction between CCS and drug. Conclusion: This study suggests that care must be taken when additives are used to manufacture agglomerates as the type of additives even in low concentrations can have a big impact on the efficiency of the binder liquid in forming agglomerates thereby affecting the quality of agglomerates.