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Friday, October 30, 2020

Different types of pharmaceutical tablets

Different types of tablets are formulated by the pharmaceutical industry, according to the route of administration and function. They can be different in size, weight, shape, thickness, hardness, disintegration and dissolution characteristics, and other features based on their amount of medicinal substances, intended use, and process of preparation.

The dosage form is a pharmaceutical formulation in which a particular mixture of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and excipients are used to allow simple and precise administration and delivery of active drug substances. Generally, it is classified based on the physical state, route of administration, site of application, and uses.
The tablet type of oral solid dosage form and is one of the most preferred compared to another form of medicine because it offers several applications and advantages to patients, physicians, and manufacturers. A tablet contains a mixture of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API/drug) and excipients, typically in powder form which is compressed to form a solid pill.
Pharmaceutical Tablets
The pharmaceutical tablets can be either coated or uncoated and are classified into five groups based on the route of administration and action.
1. Tablets ingested orally: 
  • Compressed tablets
  • Multiple-compressed tablets
  • Sustained action tablets
  • Enteric-coated tablets
  • Film-coated tablets
  • Sugarcoated tablets
  • Gelatin-coated tablet
  • Chewable tablets
2. Tablets used in the oral cavity: -
  • Sublingual tablets
  • Buccal tablets
  • Dental cones
  • Lozenges tablets and torches
3. Tablets administered by other routes: -
  • Implantation tablets
  • Rectal tablet
  • Vaginal tablets
  • Hypodermic tablet
4. Tablets used to prepare solutions: -
  • Effervescent tablets
5. Molded tablets or tablet triturates: -
  • Dispensing tablets
  • Hypodermic tablets 
Commonly asked questions on pharmaceutical dosage forms are as follows.

What are the disadvantages of tablets?
The major disadvantage of the tablet dosage form is that It may be complex or unfeasible to formulate drugs with slow dissolution, poor wetting, and intermediate to large dosages, as a tablet offering sufficient or maximum bioavailability of the medication.

What are the types of capsules in pharmaceuticals?
There are two types of capsules, hard-shelled capsules, and soft-shelled capsules, hard-shelled capsules containing dry, powdered materials, and soft-shelled capsules, containing drugs that are dissolved or suspended in oil.

Why are tablets coated?
The tablet coating is specifically intended for taste masking, odor masking, physical and chemical protection, and to control the rate or speed of dissolution of the tablet.

What are the factors affecting the granulation process?
Quality of the machine, compatibility between material and binding solvents, selection of excipients, solubility of particles in the granulation liquid, and characteristics of the drug are some of the factors that affect the granulation process.


Difference between coated and uncoated tablets

The major difference between coated and uncoated tablets is that the coated tablets are designed to control the release profile of the drug, masking odor and taste, whereas uncoated tablets are designed to provide rapid disintegration in the gastric fluid of the stomach, and after the compression of these types of tablets no special process is required.

Solid dosage formulations such as tablets, capsules, granules, sachets, powders are the most important dosage forms for pharmaceuticals because of their significant advantages and applications. 
The tablet is one of the most commonly prescribed and used for medicine. It is unit, solid dosage form of medicine, which contains one or more active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) for oral administration, hence it is also called oral solid dosage form. The tablets are made from granulated or powdered materials that are strongly pressed together during manufacturing to form a hardened tablet.
Coated and Uncoated Tablets
Uncoated tablets:
The uncoated tablet is a single layer or multi-layer of formulation that contains the drugs or medicines and excipients simultaneously without any coating. In general, it is a single compression of granules or multi-layer tablets consisting of parallel layers prepared by compression of granules of various compositions. These types of pills do not require additional processing after compression. The majority of uncoated tablets are made in such a way any substances added are not intended expressly to alter the release rate or dissolution rate of their active ingredients. Soluble tablets, dispersible tablets, and effervescent tablets are some types of uncoated tablets.
Coated tablets:
Coated tablets are covered with an extra thin layer to manage their release rate, to mask unpleasant taste and odor, and to keep them from external influences, such as light, moisture, heat, and bacteria. Coated tablets are smooth, colorful, shiny, and often become tasteless and easier to swallow. The different types of tablet coatings apply to different types of tablets according to requirements. The material used for coating is usually applied as a solution or suspension that does not affect the quality of the drug and does not have side effects. Sugar-coating, film-coating, and enteric coating are widely used in the pharmaceutical industries.

Commonly asked questions on pharmaceutical dosage forms are as follows.

What are the steps involved in tablet coatings?
The steps involved in tablet coatings are sealing of tablet core, sub-coating, smoothing, coloring, polishing, and printing.

What are the different types of pharmaceutical tablets?
Coated tablets, uncoated tablets, dispersible tablets, effervescent tablets, modified-release tablets, enteric-coated tablets, prolonged-release tablets, soluble tablets, chewable tablets, buccal and sublingual tablets are the types of pharmaceutical tablets.

What are the different types of the granulation process?
There are two types of granulation techniques such as dry granulation and wet granulation.

What are the advantages of tablets?
The major advantages of tablets have stable dose, dose accuracy, high precision, lowest variability, and most stable in chemical, physical, and microbiological properties.


Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Difference between film coated and enteric coated tablets

The major difference between film-coated and enteric-coated tablets is that sugar-coated or film-coated tablets are designed to improve the taste by masking taste and odor, whereas enteric-coated tablets are designed to release the drug or medication after the stomach e.g. in the intestine.

Tablet coating is one of the oldest pharmaceutical processes for solid dosage forms that are still in existence due to its advantages and applications. The coating is a technique by which a significantly dry, exterior layer of coating material is added to the surface of a dosage form to impart particular advantages over the uncoated dosage form. The basic principle of tablet coating is the application of coating composition to the moving tablet bed with the simultaneous use of heated air to promote solvent evaporation. The coating distribution is done either by movement of the coating pan or tablets.
Film and sugar coating:
A sugar coating is mainly a hard and thick coating of sugar around the tablet. This is a common technique used by pharmaceutical industries to mask the taste and odor of particularly bad-tasting drugs and excipients. Another advantage of film and sugar coating is that it prevents light and moisture, which can cause degradation or affect the quality of the product.
Enteric coating:
The enteric coating is also known as a gastro-resistant coating, is a barrier that controls the position of the tablet in the digestive tract where it is absorbed. The major reasons for the application of enteric coatings are to protect the acid-labile drugs from the acidic pH of gastric acid and to offer delayed release component to repeat action tablets are the reasons for the use of enteric coatings.
The difference between the film coating and enteric coating is that a film coating is a thin polymer-based coat applied on the surface used to inhibit the odor and taste, and the enteric coating is used to prevent the release of medication before it reaches the small intestine.

Commonly asked questions on tablet coating are as follows.

What are the types of tablet coatings?
Sugar-coated tablets, enteric coating, gelatin coating, film coating, compression coating, electrostatic coating, magnetically assisted impaction coating, dip coating, and rotary-die coating, etc. are the types of tablet coatings.

What is the disadvantage of tablet coating?
The major disadvantage of tablet coating is that the process increases the cost of formulation and tablet coatings interfere in the pharmacodynamic properties of drug formulation.

What are the steps involved in sugar coating?
The steps involved in sugar-coating are, sealing the tablet core, sub-coating, smoothing, color coating, polishing, and printing, etc.


Monday, October 26, 2020

Why are tablets coated?

The tablet coating is particularly formulated to regulate the rate or speed of tablet dissolution where and how the active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) are to be absorbed after ingestion in the body.

Powder, capsules, tablets, liquids, suspensions, injections are methods of delivering medication, of which tablets and capsules are the most commonly prescribed and used forms of medicine that comes with different types. The challenge for manufacturers of medication is to turn a valuable natural or chemical compound into an effective and safe dosage form for the consumption of patients. They should go where they need to go to do their work without harming other parts of the body.
Tablet coating is an important step involved used by the pharmaceutical industries in the manufacturing of tablets with delayed release, sustained, and controlled release profiles. It is most important that the coating should be uniform and under stress, it should not crack. Therefore, different methods were developed for applying the coating on the surface of the tablet.
Generally, when the tablets are agitated in a pan, fluid bed, etc., the coating solutions are sprayed on the uncoated tablets. A thin film that sticks to each tablet is formed when the solution is applied. Through passing the air over the surface of the tumbling pans, the liquid portion of the coating solution is then evaporated. The coating can either be formed by a single application or, by the use of several spraying cycles, may be established in layers.
The tablets are coated for the following reasons.
  • To mask the odor and taste of the medicines and excipients used in the formulation
  • To prevent the degradation of tablet or capsule in the stomach and make them usable in the intestine, using cellulose or other material coatings
  • To control the site of drug release
  • To maintain the physical or chemical integrity of the drug (API)
  • To maintain the shape of the tablet
  • To increase the appearance and acceptance of the product
  • To provide delayed release of the drug (medication)
  • To provide sustained release, controlled release, or decreasing the drug dosing frequency
Commonly asked questions of tablet coatings are as follows.

What are the different types of tablet coating?
The different types of tablet coating such as sugar-coated tablets, film-coated tablets, gelatin-coated tablets, enteric-coated tablets, compression coating tablets, and some other types of coatings

Why tablets are enteric-coated?
The enteric-coated tablet is made from more than one drug (API) and can cause stomach problems, therefore, to prevent disperse of the tablet in the stomach, and to release the drugs in the intestine the tablet has enteric-coated.

What are the advantages of a tablet-coating?
The tablet coating has several advantages, like masking odor, taste, and color of the drug, providing physical and chemical protection to the drug, protecting the drug from the gastric environment.

What are the types of dosage forms in pharmaceutics?
Pharmaceutical dosage forms are categorized according to physical characteristics into four categories, such as solid dosage forms, semi-solid dosage forms liquid dosage forms, and gaseous dosage forms.


Saturday, October 24, 2020

What are the different types of tablet coating?

Different types of tablet coating are used in pharmaceutical industries, according to the properties and nature of different types of tablets. It is a process by which an essentially dry, outer layer of coating material is applied in a dosage form to provide a distinct advantage over the unreserved variety.

The coating of pharmaceutical solid dosage forms, particularly tablets, has been used for more than a century. While such a method is regularly applied to a dosage form that is functionally complete and may therefore cause one to focus on the need to incur additional costs, it is clear that the constant use of coating processes in pharmaceutical manufacturing remains quite common.
The coating of tablets is a significant step involved in the manufacture of tablet dosage forms, particularly for the tablets having delayed-release and controlled release profiles. The tablet coating has many advantages such as the taste of masking, the color, and odor of the drug, providing physical and chemical protection to the drug, protecting the API from the gastric environment.
Different types of tablet coating:
Different types of tablet coating are used for different types of tablets according to their properties and nature.
1.Sugarcoating
2.Enteric coating
3.Film coating
4.Gelatin coating
5.Compression coating
6.Other types of coating

Sugarcoating:
Sugarcoating is usually soluble in water, causing it to dissolve quickly when exposed to any liquid medium, for example, gastrointestinal fluid. The major advantage of sugar coating is that it eliminates unpleasant or bitter taste, odor, and makes it easier to swallow.
Film coating:
In tablet manufacturing, film coating is commonly used to enhance the appearance of the product and to promote swallowing. It is a thin polymer-based coating that is applied in tablet dosage forms. The film coating is a deposition of a thin film of polymer around the tablet core. There are two types of tablet film coating, aqueous film coating, and non-aqueous film coating.
Gelatin coating:
Gelatin coating tablets are made by spraying less bloom solution of gelatin and water onto pre-coated tablets, the gelatin coating provides a lower coefficient of friction and consequently increased slippery and swallowing ability for tablets without thickness and stickiness. It is suitable for both wet granulation and direct compression. The pharmaceutical manufacturers also broadly used the empty gelatin capsules to encapsulate dosage forms of various drugs.
Enteric coating:
Enteric coating tablets have a cellulose coating or other materials that prevent their  degradation in stomach and make them usable in the intestine. Enteric coating is a process that is particularly prepared to work the tablet in the alkaline pH of the intestine rather than the acidic pH of the stomach.
Compression coating:
Compression coating is of the significant dry coating method that does not need either heat or solvent to perform the coating. It is used to protect the active drug component (API) from the environment and is also used to release modified medicine. The important area where compression coating is widely used is site-specific drug delivery, especially colon-specific drug delivery. Compression coating is a system in which the whole surface of an inner core is surrounded by a coat. It is widely used for particularly colon-specific drug delivery and site-specific drug delivery.
Other types of coating:
Some other types of tablet coatings are electrostatic coating, magnetically assisted impaction coating, dip coating, and rotary-die coating, etc.

Commonly asked questions on dosage forms are as follows.

What is the major advantage of tablet coating?
The major advantage of tablet coating is taste and odor masking, physical and chemical protection, protecting the drug in the stomach (API), and controlling its release profile.

Why tablets are coated?
Tablet coating is performed in pharmaceutical manufacturing for several significant reasons, some of which are - to maintain physical or chemical drug integrity, to control the site of drug release, to provide controlled, to continue, or to reduce the frequency of drug dosing.

What is the classification of pharmaceutical dosage forms according to physical nature?
According to physical properties, the pharmaceutical dosage forms are classified into four types such as solid dosage forms, liquid dosage forms, gaseous dosage forms, and semisolid dosage forms.

What is the difference between film coated and enteric coated tablets? 
The major difference between film coated and enteric coated tablets is that sugar or film coated tablets are designed to improve taste by masking taste and odor, whereas enteric coated tablets are designed to release the drug or medication after the stomach e.g. in the intestine.


Tuesday, October 13, 2020

advantages and disadvantages of sugar coating of tablets

Sugar-coated tablets are very popular dosage form since it has several advantages such as protecting the drug from the environment, eliminates the bitter taste and odor, and enhances the appearance of the tablet.

The tablets are solid dosage forms that typically include active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and excipients in a crystalline or granular form of powder, which is prepared by the compression process. There are several types of tablets that are available according to the usage and manufacturing process.
The sugar coating of the tablets is sugar-coated with an aqueous sugar-coating solution containing about 5 to 30 % by weight. As the name suggests, this method consists of the application of sugar (sucrose) based coating solutions on the tablets. Sugarcoating is the most usual multi-step coating process used in the manufacture of the tablet dosage form in pharmaceutical industries.
Advantages of sugar coating:
  • The major advantage of sugar-coated tablets is that the sugar masks the unpleasant taste and makes it easy to swallow.
  • It is inexpensive in terms of running costs as sugar (sucrose) and water are the most common materials used.
  • It can retard the loss of volatile ingredients and prolong the shelf life of the drug.
  • The coating can improve the robustness of the product.
  • The sugar coating provides an attractive and glossy finish to tablets.
  • Sugarcoating can enhance the mechanical strength of the dosage form.
  • Large dosage forms can be easily swallowed with the help of sugar coating.
  • Tablet coating can help to control the drug release rate as the delayed-release (enteric-coated) and sustained-release formulation.
  • It is possible to incorporate incompatibility drugs together as a single dose with the help of coating.
Disadvantages of sugar coating:
  • The major disadvantage of sugar coating is that it requires different process steps and specialized equipment, thereby increasing the cost of manufacture.
  • Tablet coating can interfere with the pharmacodynamic properties of drug formulation.
  • During manufacturing, several film defects can occur which can affect the quality of the product. (Motting, capping, chipping and bridging).
  • A trained or skilled person is required to perform the process of coating.
  • The coating of the tablet takes longer than the traditional process of tablet manufacture.
  • Sugarcoating enhances the size and weight of the tablet.

Commonly asked questions on solid dosage forms are as follows.

What are the steps involved in sugar coating?
Sealing of the tablet core, sub-coating, smoothing, color coating, polishing, printing are the steps involved in sugar coating.

What are the different types of tablet coating?
Sugar-coated tablets, film-coated tablets, enteric-coated tablets, gelatin-coated tablets, and compression coating tablets are the types of tablet coating.

What are the advantages of capsules?
The major advantage of the capsule is that the unique mix of ingredients is possible in the formulation by a mask the odor and taste of unpleasant medicines.


Advantages and disadvantages of film coated tablets

The film-coated tablets are conventional solid dosage forms which coated with a thin layer of polymer. The major advantage of film coating tablets is that they are used for masking odor, and taste, physical and chemical protection, and controls the release profile.

Pharmaceutical tablets are the most prescribed solid dosage forms that typically contain one or more API (active pharmaceutical ingredients) in the powdered form with excipients that are prepared either by moulding or by compression.
The tablets are coated to make the tablet quality and convenient to take. It is coated with a suitable coating material to separate the drug from outside in the tablet, thus preventing oxidation of air, moisture, odor, light, and increasing the preservation of the drug.
Film-coated tablets are conventional tablets that are coated with a thin polymer coating. The film is typically colored and has the same basic characteristics as the sugar coating, with the additional benefit of being more stable, less bulky, and takes minimum time to apply.
Advantages of film-coated tablets:
  • The advantage of the film coating tablet is that it is designed to disintegrate and expose the core tablet to the desired location in the gastrointestinal tract.
  • The film-coated tablets are less bulky and cheaper as compared to sugar-coated tablets.
  • Using the film coating process in pharmaceutical manufacturing can reduce or protect dust in the work environment.
  • The tablet coating increases the shelf life by protecting it from air, moisture, and light, hence it is more stable in chemical, physical, and microbiological properties.
  • Film-coated tablets have lower production costs and time with a higher degree of automation than liquid dosage forms.
  • It has been formulated to use with different characteristics, such as controlled release film, gastric film, sustained-release films, enteric film, etc. Due to which its application in broad ranges.
  • Film-coated tablets are compact, attractive, and smooth shape, so it can be easy for children and elderly patients to swallow.
  • The polymer materials are non-toxic and tasteless and significantly enhance the dissolution rate, bioavailability, and the drug's effective time.
Disadvantages of film-coated tablets:
  • The major disadvantage of film coating tablets is that not all drugs and excipients are suitable for coating.
  • The film-coated tablets are intended for oral routes of administration, hence it is difficult to swallow, particularly for children, sick, and unconscious patients.
  • Hygroscopic drugs, low density, and amorphous are not suitable to compress in the punching machine.
  • The manufacture of film-coated tablets in the pharmaceutical industry has complex processes and requires expensive machines compared to conventional tablets.
  • The probability of batch failure of a coated tablet is higher than the traditional batch.
  • The coated tablets are expensive.
  • Production costs can increase due to the coating and complex manufacturing process.
  • Due to the stability issue, more than two or three APIs can only be formulated in capsules, not tablets.

Commonly asked questions on dosage forms are as follows.

What type of defect occurs in the manufacturing of film coating tablets?
Picking, peeling, mottling, and cracking are the most frequently occurring defects in film coating tablets.

What are the types of tablet coating?
Sugarcoating, film coating, enteric coating, controlled release coating, specialized coating, compressed coating, electrostatic coating, dip coating, and vacuum film coating are the types of tablet coating.

What is the difference between capsules and tablets?
Tablets and capsules both are the solid dosage forms; the tablet consists of compressed powder, whereas the capsule consists of powder or jelly enclosed in a dissolvable gelatin container.


Friday, October 9, 2020

Difference between conductometric and potentiometric titration

Titration is a method where a known concentration of analytics is used to determine the concentration of an unknown sample. The major difference between potentiometric and conductometric titrations is that the potentiometric titration determines the potential across the solute, while conductometric titration determines the electrolytic conductivity of the sample.
Titration is an analytical technique in which the concentration of a solute is determined using a titrant that acts as the standard of known concentration. We can determine the concentration of an unknown solution from that titrant. Titrations can be classified as acid-base titration, redox titration, precipitation titration, and complexometric titration.
Potentiometric titration is a volumetric method which is parallel to direct titration of a redox reaction. This method is a useful way of characterizing an acid. Potentiometric titration uses an indicator electrode instead of an indicator to monitor the endpoint of the titration. Glass and metal ion electrodes are usually indicator electrodes. The potentiometric titration is generally performed using the pH meter as it determines the potential difference between the pH electrode and a reference electrode.
Conductometric titration is a laboratory technique of quantitative analysis that is used to identify the concentration of a given solute in a sample mixture. It is a type of titration in which the reaction mixture's electrolytic conductivity is continuously observed as a reactant is added. The equivalence point is the point at which a sudden change is observed in the conductivity.

Commonly asked questions on titration are as follows.

What are the types of titration?
Titrations can be classified as acid-base titration, redox titration, complexometric titration, and precipitation titration.

What is the major advantage of conductometric titration?
The major advantage of conductometric titration is that the indicators are not necessary to perform the analysis since the change of solution conduction is measured by the conductor meter.

What is the major advantage of potentiometric titration?
The major advantage of using the potentiometric titration is that it is an inexpensive and accurate method and the equivalence point is not determined using the color indicator.