Near IR spectroscopy to quantify the silica content and difference between silicified microcrystalline cellulose and physical mixtures of microcrystalline cellulose and silica.

Silicified microcrystalline cellulose (SMCC) has been shown to have advantages over conventional microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). These advantages are (i) improved tablet strength compared to that achieved with MCC, (ii) the retention of compressibility after wet granulation, whereas MCC produces weaker tablets after wet granulation, and (iii) superior flow properties than MCC. In this study near IR spectroscopy has been used to study MCC, SMCC (with different loadings of colloidal silicon dioxide, CSD) and physical mixtures of MCC and CSD. It was found that even though SMCC and MCC were very similar, there was a region of the near IR spectra (second derivative peak at 2194 nm) where a distinctive response was seen for SMCC. The size of the peak was proportional to the CSD content for the co-processed SMCC samples. The peak was not present to the same extent for physical mixtures. A combination of near IR and a test for total silica content would make it possible to discern whether microcrystalline cellulose samples were SMCC material or simple physical mixtures.