چکیده (انگلیسی):

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the change of
surface roughness and the development of the film during
the film coating process using laser profilometer roughness
measurements, SEM imaging, and energy dispersive X-ray
(EDX) analysis. Surface roughness and texture changes
developing during the process of film coating tablets were
studied by noncontact laser profilometry and scanning
electron microscopy (SEM). An EDX analysis was used to
monitor the magnesium stearate and titanium dioxide of the
tablets. The tablet cores were film coated with aqueous
hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, and the film coating was
performed using an instrumented pilot-scale side-vented
drum coater. The SEM images of the film-coated tablets
showed that within the first 30 minutes, the surface of the
tablet cores was completely covered with a thin film. The
magnesium signal that was monitored by SEM-EDX
disappeared after ~15 to 30 minutes, indicating that the
tablet surface was homogeneously covered with film coating.
The surface roughness started to increase from the
beginning of the coating process, and the increase in the
roughness broke off after 30 minutes of spraying. The results
clearly showed that the surface roughness of the tablets
increased until the film coating covered the whole surface
area of the tablets, corresponding to a coating time period of
15 to 30 minutes (from the beginning of the spraying phase).
Thereafter, the film only became thicker. The methods used
in this study were applicable in the visualization of the
changes caused by the film coating on the tablet surfaces.