Chrominfo: Advantages and disadvantages of solid dosage form

Dosage forms come in many types, depending on the method or route of administration. Solid dosage forms, semi-solid dosage forms, liquid dosage forms, and gaseous dosage forms are used for the diagnosis or treatment of the disease by various routes. Solid dosage forms are the most significant dosage forms in pharmaceuticals; it has one or more unit dose of medicament. The solid dosage form is the most commonly used and prescribed by doctors as compared to other dosage forms. It can be administered orally in the form of tablets, capsules, powders, etc. Of these, the tablet is one of the most commonly used oral solid dosage forms.

Advantages of solid dosage form:

The major advantage of solid dosage forms is a high precision, lowest variability, stable and accurate dosing.
The formulation of solid dosage forms is simpler than liquid and semi-solid dosage forms.
Solid dosage forms have a strong onset of action.
Several medicines and excipients or ingredients can combine, making it easier for the patient to avoid having to administer multiple doses.
The liquid form of the drug can be converted into a solid form using a capsule.
Doses are available according to the patient's requirements.
These are easy for packaging, transport and it does not require special conditions for storage.
It is easy to swallow and can be attractive to children.
It is very simple to swallow with water.
It is useful whenever partial doses are required. It is easy to divide it into parts.
As it is easy and rapidly digested it does not harm the gastrointestinal tract.
Unpleasant taste and odor of drugs can be masked using the capsules and sugar coating for tablets.
It can be manufactured in custom sizes, shapes, and colors as per requirement.
It can protect the API from atmospheric conditions such as moisture, temperature, and light, etc.
Solid dosage forms are stable in chemical, physical, and microbiological properties.

Disadvantages of solid dosage form:

The main disadvantage of the solid dosage form is that it is not easy to swallow, particularly for children, and the elderly, and it cannot be given to the unconscious patient.
An API that has slow dissolution rates, low solubility in water, low density, amorphous and high absorption in the gastrointestinal tract, they are difficult to prepare.
Several medicines cause gastric irritation when administered in the form of a tablet.
Hygroscopic drugs are not suitable for these types of dosage forms.
Sometimes patients experience discomfort due to unpleasant taste and smell and avoid swallowing it.
Coating, encapsulation of tablets, and complex process of capsules may increase production costs in the pharmaceutical industry.
Some examples of solid dosage forms are as follows.
Chewable tablets, buccal tablets, film-coated, enteric-coated tablets, sublingual tablets, and effervescent tablets, hard-shelled capsules, soft gelatin capsules, enteric-coated capsule, HPMC capsule, pills pastilles, lozenges, troches, powders, suppositories, and pellets, etc.