Fast Dispersible Cocoa Tablets: A Case Study of Freeze-Casting Applied to Foods

A fast and easily dissolving/dispersible tablet is introduced as a new convenient dosage form to substitute fine powders. Cocoa was taken as a first potential food candidate to produce a fast dispersible tablet. The experimental setup of a successfully applied freeze-casting process is presented. By controlling the temperature gradient and the freezing mode, two pore morphologies including needle-columnar and planar-lamellar structures were found. Sugar used as a binder dramatically improved the properties of the produced tablets. A fast-dispersal cocoa tablet of 16 mm in diameter and 10 mm in height was obtained, with a dispersal time of less than 1 min and a crushing force higher than 34.5 N, i.e., a diametral tensile strength σ_t of 0.14 N mm⁻². In other words, a tablet meeting the dissolution time and mechanical strength requirements for fast-dispersal tablets was generated.