Investigation of Compressed Coating Tablet Swelling with Water as a New Dosage Form for Elderly Patients.

The compressed coating tablet swelling with water was investigated for the purpose of development of a new dosage form for elderly patients. The dry gels of agar, gelatin, and Inaagar-L® were reduced to powders and used as the coating material.It was found that the surface of any tablet formed a state of jelly through the addition of water, thus masking the taste of the drug. All tablets satisfied the rules of the disintegration test outlined in JP XII. These tablets demonstrated high moisture absorption due to the stored condition. The water absorption pattern of the tablets varied with the kind of coating material used. The agar coating tablet absorbed water rapidly, with its coating layer then being disintegrated. The differences in water absorption and swelling behavior of these tablets were considered to be caused by the difference in the size of the gap between the gel particles of the coating layer and the swelling ability of the gel particles. The Inaagar-L ® coating tablet was deemed to be the most desirable one in the volunteer test. Therefore, it seems likely that the texture of the swelled coating layer is an important factor in facilitating swallowing.