Pharmaceutical tablets are used to administer orally an active ingredient to a patient. In general, conventional pharmaceutical tablets are made by adding active ingredient(s) to a tablet in the granulation stage, in the granule finishing stage, or in the direct mixing stage. The final mixture is made into a tablet after being mixed homogeneously.
In general, orally administered pharmaceutical tablets have some disadvantages relative to orally administered active ingredients in liquid form. Typically, the rate at which the active ingredient acts on the patient is limited by the rate at which the pharmaceutical tablet dissolves.
In general, a chargeable blank tablet of this invention contains no active ingredients. The active ingredients are introduced into the blank tablet, such as by immersing the blank tablet into the active ingredient in liquid form so that the blank tablet absorbs the active ingredients in liquid form. Whenever required, any excessive amount of the active ingredients in liquid form can be removed by centrifuging the tablets. The blank tablet including active ingredients in liquid form unexpectedly exhibits better potency than conventional pharmaceutical tablets containing the same active ingredient. In particular, pharmaceutical compositions produced with blank tablets of this invention unexpectedly exhibit fast release rates of the active ingredients absorbed into the tablet, e.g., the disintegration time of the tablet is quick relative to other conventional pharmaceutical tablets. In a specific example, a blank tablet including an anti-foaming active ingredient unexpectedly exhibits superior anti-foaming properties relative to conventional pharmaceutical tablets.
In one aspect, the invention features a blank tablet including between about 0.1 to about 5 weight percent of an absorbent; between about 10 to about 98 weight percent of a diluent or a binder; between about 0.5 to about 10 weight percent of a disintegrant; and between about 0.5 to about 5 weight percent of a lubricant. The blank tablet is formed to absorb an active ingredient in liquid form.
In another aspect, the invention features a method for preparing a pharmaceutical composition. The method includes forming a blank tablet and introducing an active ingredient in liquid form into the blank tablet. If necessary, the charged tablet can be centrifuged to remove any excessive amount of the active ingredient introduced into the blank tablet. The amount of the active ingredient, e.g., dimethylpolysiloxane and simethicone, introduced into the blank tablet is, typically, between about 1 to about 25 weight percent.
In a further aspect, the invention features pharmaceutical compositions produced by the method.
The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and from the claims.