Tablet/Pellet binding

I'm sorry I couldn't quite figure out where to ask this.


Hello bluelight, I was wondering if you could answer my question.


I know pressing using a hand press can sometimes make the tablets "soft"

This can be a problem if I want to take my vitamins later on in the day, (carry it in my pocket)

Is there any way to harden these up? Even if it makes it "extended release"?


I was thinking adding a little bit of wax or something similar to almost imitate the non abusable /crushable tablets that are created nowadays.

What should I use Bluelight? Any pointers?


Thanks.

Buy gelcaps - probably easier than binders / making your own vitamin pills. xanthan gum can be used as a binder / rice starch / povidone etc

I've used these but due to humidity where I live, they gum up and get gross sometimes.

I'm not trying to do anything illegal or fancy, just use a regular hand crank press, but harden them up with an extra binder.





I guess a more direct question from me would be, can I use wax or something similar to do this?


Edit: Thanks for pointing me in the right direction bearlove, just googling around using those as keywords gave me some info that might help. and yes sometimes waxes can be used, just how to get it in there soft and make it harden up will be the tricky part.

Maybe i'll buy a few different binders and try them out in different mixes/matches, see what works best for me.

------>Moving to Other Drugs

I'm thinking you could use bee's wax (unadulterated) it's used for the waxy coating on licorice sweets and such.

however I don't have a clue as to how you would get a small layer onto the pills , perphaps include a small piece of string before pressing , then tie this to a pencil/stick , melt your beeswax and just dip it?

^
I think bingeboys on the right track with beeswax.
You can get these little self heating pots that are used for hair waxing, they heat the wax just enough to use it but not too hot.
After heating the wax, take your finished pill and a fine set of tweezers and dip your pill, gently blow on the pill to dry the wax and thats it! One film-coated tablet.

Okay cool. I was also reading something about using Shellac to coat the tablet to keep it from degrading/falling apart.

I would think Shellac to be toxic as it's used for industrial usage, But, apparently it's used quite often in pharmeceuticals?


I'm not really trying to make it pharmaceutical grade either, moreso like some of the supplement tablets you can get at the vitamin store, just hard.

as far as dipping it, seems awkward, I was thinking about laying them on a tray and using a small brush to "paint" them with a coating so that the layer is thin and doesnt drop everywhere. Then once it's dried, flip the tablets and repeat the process.


Honestly think I'm just going to have to experiment, but thank you BL

I'm closing this, I don't think discussion on making dose forms (i.e. ways to press pills) are allowed here.