Excipient comprising microcrystalline cellulose having high compressibility and process for preparing it

摘要

Disclosed is an excipient comprising white powdery microcrystalline cellulose having an average degree of polymerization of from 100 to 375 and an acetic acid holding capacity of 280 % or more, and having a specific compression characteristic satisfying an equality of formula (1) :wherein a is from 0.85 to 0.90, b is from 0.05 to 0.10, P represents the compression pressure (kgf/cm²) applied to the microcrystalline cellulose, V_o represents the apparent specific volume (cm³/g) of the microcrystalline cellulose, and Vp represents the specific volume (cm³/g) of the microcrystalline cellulose at the compression pressure P. The excipient of the present invention exhibits not only high compactability but also high rate of disintegration. The excipient of the present invention can be advantageously obtained by heat-treating an aqueous dispersion of purified cellulose particles, which has a solids content of 40 % or less by weight, at 100 °C or more, followed by drying, or by subjecting an aqueous dispersion of purified cellulose particles having a solids content of 23 % or less by weight to thin film-forming treatment and drying the resultant thin film.