A method for the tribological assessment of oral pharmaceutical liquids

Patient acceptance of pediatric formulations is critical to compliance and consequently therapeutic outcomes; thus, having anThe discriminating potential of the method was examined using tribology profiles (coefficient of friction (COF) vs. sliding speed) for commercially available products and products made for this study with widely varying sweetness, thickness, and grittiness; these formulations were used to judge the sensitivity of the method. Samples were measured using 3M Transpore™ surgical tape to simulate the tongue surface, steel half ring geometry, constant gap setting, target axial force of 2 N in a 600 s exponential ramp for rotation speed.The COF ranged from 0.1 to 0.6. For the speeds studied, the high viscosity commercial suspension ibuprofen drops and acetaminophen suspension show a classic Stribeck curve with an increasing COF at the higher rotation speeds, which indicates these formulations entered the hydrodynamic lubrication phase, while the lower viscosity suspensions only reached the mixed lubrication phase.The contribution of particles affects the COF in a dynamic tribologic pattern compared to products that are categorized as either low gritty or high viscosity. These results are important as they provide a potentially rapid