Croscarmellose Sodium USP/BP

Croscarmellose sodium, or sodium CMC, is a white, free-flowing powder used as a disintegrant in pharmaceutical formulations. It facilitates the breakup of a tablet in the intestinal tract after oral administration. The cross-linking reduces water solubility while still allowing the material to swell and absorb many times its weight in water. As a result, it provides superior drug dissolution and disintegration characteristics, bringing the active ingredients into better contact with bodily fluids. Croscarmellose sodium also resolves formulators? concerns over long-term functional stability, reduced effectiveness at high tablet hardness levels, and similar problems associated with products developed to enhance drug dissolution. If a tablet disintegrating agent is not included, the tablet could disintegrate too slowly, in the wrong part of the intestine or not at all, therby decreasing effectiveness.