Capsules - notes PDF

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Capsules o As a pharmacist you are making mostly capsules and powder o From the email  remember conversion of grains and gram o Capsula  small box (easy version of tablet)  Can be filled by machine or hand  Most are available as gelatin capsule some are plant based capsules  Hard gelatin capsule  dry powders, semi-solids, and liquid (exceptions)  Soft gelatin capsule  oil o Requires a special machinery  Iron content must be less than 15 ppm (due to the gelatin)  Bubble method  has no seam on it (generated from the drop)  Not largely used because not good for large scale production o Advantages of capsule dosage forms  Easy to swallow (compared to tablet)  Capsules can have a variety of colors (identification purposes)  Easy to mask unpleasant taste because the shell has no taste  Separate capsules for incompatible powders  versus bilayer tablet o Disadvantages  Easily tampered  How can tampering of a capsule be prevented?  Effects of humidity and microbial contamination  Some people have difficulty swallowing  More expensive o Alternative to gelatin  HPMC  Mallard reaction   Hydrophilic polymer  No ionized group  no cross-linking concerns  More costly than gelatin capsules  Chemoreceptor trigger zone  related to nausea and vomiting of the brain o Capsule sizes  The amount of powder that an empty hard gelatin can hold depends on three factors:  Volume of fill material  Density of the powder  Compressibility of fill material  Sizes for human 5-0 (small to big)  Rule of Six (need to know how change grain to gram)  1 grain = 65 mg  For this rule the density of the powder must be 0.6 mg/mL  Rule of Seven  Is not based on the density of the powder...