The Effect of Chitosan Concentration on Disintegration Time of Amoxicillin Tablet

The most often prescribed antibiotics by dentists to patients is Amoxicillin. It is usually in the form of capsules and tablets which are hard to swallow, especially for geriatric and pediatric patients. Orally disintegrating tablet (ODT) with the capability to disintegrate inside oral cavity without the need of water required disintegrant agent in its formulation. In this study, chitosan as the product of deacetylation of chitin which originated from exoskeleton of crustacean shells was considered as suitable disintegrant because its swelling characteristic. The aim of this research was to study the effect of chitosan concentration on disintegration time of Amoxicillin tablet. Seventy tablets were made with direct compression method. Five formulas of 250 mg Amoxicillin with chitosan concentration of 2%, 5%, 8%, 11%, and 14% were prepared, with two control groups, i.e. the group of sodium starch glycolate as disintegrant at concentration of 5% as positive control and the group without adding disintegrant into the formula for negative control. Each tablet was tested for their disintegration time using disintegration tester (Erweka). The data of disintegration time of each tablets were recorded and analyzed using non-parametric hypotheses test of Kruskal Wallis. The result of Kruskal Wallis’s test showed significant difference of chitosan concentrations on disintegration time of Amoxicillin tablet (p<0.05). The shortest disintegration time was found at 11% concentration of chitosan. Higher concentration of chitosan (14%) increased the disintegration time of Amoxicillin tablet due to gel-like formation that prolonged tablet disintegration. It was concluded that different concentration of chitosan can affect the disintegration time of Amoxicillin tablet. Further studies were recommended to provide best candidate of ODT for Amoxicillin.