Direct Compression - An Overview

Tablets are the unit solid dosage forms meant for oral use and are manufactured by using tablet compression machines. The tabletting mixture that is going to be compressed can be prepared by either of the three techniques- Wet granulation, Dry granulation or Direct compression. Each of the individual technique mentioned above has their own advantages and disadvantages respectively. But the invention of Direct compression had increased the production of tablets enormously all over the world due to its advantages over the other two techniques. The main focus that must be kept in Direct compression technique is about the use of Direct compression vehicle(DCV). Drugs must have good flow properties to be suitable for Direct compression along with good compaction properties. By using DCVs, the flow properties of the drugs with poor flow can be improved and hence can be manufactured by Direct compression technique. Drugs with minute doses(potent drugs) as well as drugs with large doses are not suitable for direct compression due to segregation problems and large tablet sizes respectively. Here we mainly focused on the advantages and disadvantages of the direct compression technique, essential properties of DCVs, some of the examples of DCVs and the drugs that are suitable for direct compression technique.