Fast time-resolved micro-CT imaging of pharmaceutical tablets: Insights into water uptake and disintegration.

We use dynamic micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) with a high temporal resolution to visualize water penetration through the porous network of immediate-release pharmaceutical solid tablets and characterize dynamic swelling and disintegration mechanisms. We process the micro-CT images using two theoretical scenarios that reflect different paths of pore structure evolution: a scenario where tablet porosity remains constant during the swelling process and a scenario where the tablet porosity progressively diminishes and eventually closes during the swelling process. We calculate the time evolution of the volume of water absorbed by the tablet and, specifically, absorbed by the excipients and the pore structure, as well as the formation and evolution of cracks.