Tablets blister packaging

Orally disintegrating tablets - Administration with liquid is not necessary. The orally disintegrating tablet is packaged in a blister within an outer aluminum pouch. Instruct patients not to remove the blister from the outer pouch until just prior to dosing. The blister pack should then be peeled open with dry hands and the orally disintegrating tablet placed on the tongue, where it will dissolve and be swallowed with saliva. 

Solids The most common solid oral dosage forms are capsules and tablets. A typical solid oral dosage forms container closure system is a plastic, usually high-density polyethylene (HDPE), bottle with a screw-on or snap-off closure and a flexible packaging system such as a pouch or a blister package. A typical closure consists of a cap, often with a liner, frequently with an inner seal. If used, fillers, desiccants, and other absorbent materials are considered primary packaging components. 

Figure 7 Content of the nifedipine degradation product (nitrosophenylpyridine) in 13 coated nifedipine tablet commercial products after irradiation inside or outside of the blister packaging (Novasoitesf " 72 hours). ( ) With blister, ( ) without blister. Source. From Ref. 11.

Katzner, L. Jones, B. Khattar, J. Kosewick, J. Blister Package and Packaged Tablet. TJS Patent 6,155,423, December 5, 2000. 

A non-invasive NIR method was reported by Dempster et for the identification of tablets within blister packages. The method identified and discriminated various potencies of an experimental drug, placebo tablets, and clinical comparator tablets. 

Aldridge and coworkers described a NIRS method for non-destructive identification of blister-packaged tablets. The NIR method drastically reduced the assay time required by the previous TLC method. The TLC method required a full day to analyze 40 tablets, compared with the NIR method, which analyzed 10 tablets in 7 min. 

C. L. Identification of tablet formulations inside blister packages by near-infrared spectroscopy. Appl. Spectrosc. 1994, 48, 1272-76. 

Augustine, M.A., Bernstein, D.F., Narurkar, A.N., and Sheen, P.-C. (1986) Studies on the light stability of flordipine tablets in amber blister packaging material, Drug Dev. Ind. Pharm., 12, 1241-1247. 

Figure 162. Moisture adsorption (a) and strength change (b) of model tablets stored in blister packages maintained at 21-22°Cand varying relative humidities, a, 25% RH, , 60% RH , 70% RH o, 95%RH. (Reproduced from Ref. 668 with permission.)...

G. L. Amidon and K. R. Middleton, Accelerated physical stability testing and long-term predictions of changes in the crushing strength of tablets stored in blister packages, Int. J. Pharm. 45,79-89(1988). 

Hard PVC is used for blister packages. It is preheated in a blistering machine and then round or capsule-like cavities are being formed in a moulding station. PVC is relatively permeable to water vapour and therefore not suitable to contain hygroscopic tablets or capsules. However, water permeability is greatly reduced when the PVC-film is combined with a thin layer of PVDC (polyvinylidene chloride). 

The other preferred form of closure system in pharmacy is heat-sealing. This usually achieves an effective and permanent seal, which can only be opened by destruction of part of the packaging material. An example is the glass ampoule, fused by heat. The fused glass forms a totally hermetic seal. Another example is the blister packaging of tablets. A multilayered film of polymer material is preformed and filled with tablets, and sealed by heat and pressure to a thin aluminium strip foil. 

A blister package containing tablets or capsules is difficult to open, or cannot be opened by an arthritic patient. The blister packages that consist completely of aluminium give most problems. Blisters with lidding foil that can be peeled off are easier to open, except when the patient mistakes them for a push-through lidding foil [39]. 

There are tablet presser devices available where a patient with limited hand strength can press the tablets out of a blister package. Alternatively, the lidding foil can be cut open using a so-called Blisterpack Pen/Pill-pen. The pharmacist can also press the tablets or capsules out of the strip for the patient and, provided that the storage conditions allow it, pack them in a jar with a screw cap. 

For patients with rheumatism several assistive devices exist, such as easy to open tablet containers and devices for opening blister packaged medication [23], Tablet splitters have already been mentioned (Sect. 37.4.3). A variety of assistive devices are available for the administration of eye drops. See Sect. 24.4.19.8. 

M. A. Dempster, J. A. Jones, 1. R. Last, B. F. MacDonald, and K. A. Prebble, Identification of Tablet Formulations inside Blister Packages by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, /. Pharm. Biomed. Anal, 11,1087 (1993). 

Kim, J, R.J. Hernandez, and G. Burgess, Application of the Finite Difference Method to Estimate the Moisture Content of a Pharmaceutical Tablet in a Blister Package, J. Packag. Technol. and Sci., submitted. 

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