Isolation and Physiotechnical Properties of Grades of Cellulose Derived from a Novel Source, Sorghum bicolor

Abstract

Sodium hydroxide de-lignified cc-Cellulose obtained from Sorphum bicolor was modified to the microcrystalline form by appropriate treatment with a mineral acid. The grades of cellulose were subejcted to preliminary evaluation for disintegrant or binder property. Compacts resulting from these polymers and their mixtures with dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCP) were found to be sufficiently hard, having disintegration times of between 6.5 to 9.5 m while pure DCP compacts had lower strength and disintegration time (DT) of over 50 m. Acetaminophen tablets formulated with SOMCC exhibited better disintegration profiles than those prepared using SC. The disintegrant activities of these polymers are most likely due to wicking and swelling effects with the former playing a dominant role. Swellability (Sb) of the polymers obeyed a derived equation; Sb - (d /m ,V ) -1 where d is true density, m is weight of dry powder and V = volume of swollen material. The ratio of swellability of SC to SOMCC was approximately 2: 1.