Diluents

Diluents provide bulk to dosage forms, and lactose is ideal in this respect being non-hygroscopic, stable and possessing good organoleptic properties.

Milled lactose

Milled lactose has a fine a particle size which makes it compactable, and is therefore a good choice for Wet Granulation applications. The range of particle size grades available means that compaction properties can be varied according to your needs.

Recommended products:
» Pharmatose® 130M
» Pharmatose® 150M
» Pharmatose® 200M
» Pharmatose® 350M
» Pharmatose® 450M


The most common grade Pharmatose® 200M is dual sourced from our Veghel and our Kapuni factories giving unparalleled security of supply for this material.

Suitable for the application:
» Wet Granulation

Sieved Lactose

DFE offer a wide range of grades of sieved lactose so that the optimal size for your application can be provided. Sieved lactose is used in a variety of applications. It is a diluent for Direct Compression tablets when used with a filler-binder such as SuperTab® or Pharmacel. It is also typically when good powder flowability and low dusting is required such as in sachet filling. It is also a frequently used diluent for capsule formulations.

Recommended products:
» Pharmatose® 50M
» Pharmatose® 60M
» Pharmatose® 70M
» Pharmatose® 80M
» Pharmatose® 90M
» Pharmatose® 100M
» Pharmatose® 110M
» Pharmatose® 125M

Suitable for the applications:
» Direct Compression
» Capsules

Microcrystalline cellulose

Microcrystalline cellulose is widely used in pharmaceuticals, primarily as a binder/diluent in oral tablet and capsule formulations where it is used in both Wet Granulation and Direct Compression. Pharmacel is the DFE brand of microcrystalline cellulose. We supply the 101 and 102 grades primarily intended for Wet Granulation and Direct Compression applications respectively.

Recommended product:
» Pharmacel 

Suitable for the applications:
» Wet Granulation
» Direct Compression

Potato starch

Potato starch is usually used as a disintegrant at levels of about 5% to 20% in tablets. Blends of natural starch and pregelatinised starch are frequently used as fillers for hard gelatin capsule formulations. In this application the necessary cohesiveness for plug formation at light tamping forces together with plug dispersion and drug release is readily achieved.

Recommended product:
» Solani Amylum

Suitable for the applications:
» Wet Granulation
» Hard gelatin capsules

Pregelatinised starch

Pregelatinised starch has a high water soluble content which renders the material an effective as a binder for Wet Granulation applications. It can be mixed dry with the other granulation components and it is activated by the addition of water, thus avoiding the need to make a starch suspension. DMV-Fonterra Excipients offers Prejel PA5 PH, a fully pregelatinised potato starch. It can also be used as a disintegrant in Direct Compression formulations.

Recommended product:
» Prejel PA5 PH

Suitable for the applications:
» Wet Granulation
» Direct Compression


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