What role does a binder/adhesive play in tablet formulation?

In tablet formulation, a binder or adhesive serves the critical function of helping particles stick together. This is essential for creating a cohesive tablet that maintains its shape and integrity during handling, packaging, and administration. Binders ensure that the active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients form a uniform mass, which can be effectively compressed into tablets without crumbling or breaking apart.

By promoting adhesion among the powder particles, binders also contribute to the overall mechanical strength of the tablet. This mechanical strength is vital not only for the stability and durability of the tablet during manufacturing and transport but also for ensuring that the tablet disintegrates properly at the time of administration, allowing for effective drug release.

In contrast, options such as providing flavor, separating layers of the tablet, or enhancing tablet disintegration do not accurately represent the primary function of binders. While flavoring agents may be added to improve taste, and disintegrants are used to promote breakdown in the gastrointestinal tract, these are separate functionalities that do not overlap with the role of binders in achieving cohesion among tablet components.