Excipient



An excipient is an inactive substance used as a carrier for the aspirin) may not be easily administered and absorbed by the human body; in such cases the substance in question may be dissolved into or mixed with an excipient. Excipients are also sometimes used to bulk up formulations with very potent active ingredients, to allow for convenient and accurate dosage. In addition to their use in the single-dosage quantity, excipients can be used in the manufacturing process to aid in the handling of the active substance concerned.

Depending on the suppository.

Often, once an active ingredient has been purified, it cannot stay in purified form for long. In many cases it will denature, fall out of solution, or stick to the sides of the container. To stabilize the active ingredient, excipients are added, ensuring that the active ingredient stays "active", and, just as importantly, stable for a sufficiently long period of time that the shelf-life of the product makes it competitive with other products. Thus, the formulation of excipients in many cases is considered a trade secret.

Pharmaceutical codes require that all ingredients in drugs, as well as their chemical decomposition products are identified and guaranteed to be safe. For this reason, excipients are only used when absolutely necessary and in the smallest amounts possible.


Types of excipients:

Antiadherents

Antiadherents are used to reduce the adhesion between the powder (granules) and the punch faces and thus prevent tablet sticking to the tablet punches.

Binders

Binders hold the ingredients in a tablet together.

Binders ensure that tablets and granules can be formed with required mechanical strength. Binders are usually maltitol.

Binders are classified according to their application:

  • Solution binders are dissolved in a solvent (for example water or Polyethylene glycol
  • Dry binders are added to the powder blend, either after a wet granulation step, or as part of a direct powder compression (DC) formula. Examples are Polyethylene glycol

Coatings

Tablet coatings protect tablet ingredients from deterioration by moisture in the air and make large or unpleasant-tasting tablets easier to swallow. For most coated tablets, a cellulose (plant fiber) film coating is used which is free of sugar and potential allergens. Occasionally, other coating materials are used, for example synthetic polymers, polysaccharides.

Changing the dissolution rates of active species

Enteric coatings or slow release coatings control the rate of drug release, or determine where the drug will be released in the digestive tract.

Disintegrants

Disintegrants expand and dissolve when wet causing the tablet to break apart in the digestive tract, releasing the active ingredients for absorption. Disintegrant types include:

  • Water uptake facilitators
  • Tablet rupture promoters

They ensure that when the tablet is in contact with water, it rapidly breaks down into smaller fragments, thereby facilitating dissolution. Examples of disintegrants include: cellulose, crosslinked polyvinyl pyrrolidone, sodium starch glycolate, sodium carboxymethyl cellulosemethycellulose.

Fillers/Diluents

Fillers fill out the size of a tablet or capsule, making it practical to produce and convenient for the consumer to use. By increasing the bulk volume, the final product has the proper volume for patient handling.

A good filler must be inert, compatible with the other components of the formulation, non-hygroscopic, soluble, relatively cheap, compactible, and preferably tasteless or pleasant tasting.

Plant vegetable fats and oils can be used in soft gelatin capsules.

Other examples of fillers include: calcium carbonate.

Flavors and Colors

Flavors and Colors are added to improve the taste or appearance of a formulation. Color consistency is important as it allows easy identification of a medication.

Glidants

Glidants are used to improve the flowability of the powder or granules or both.

Lubricants

Lubricants prevent ingredients from clumping together and from sticking to the tablet punches or capsule filling machine. Lubricants also ensure that tablet formation and injection can occur with low friction between the solid and die wall.

Common minerals like stearic acid are the most frequently used lubricants in tablets or hard gelatin capsules.

Preservatives

Some typical preservatives used in pharmaceutical formulations are

Sorbents

adsorption or by absorption) in a dry state.

Sweeteners

Sweeteners are added to make the ingredients more palatable, especially in chewable tablets such as cough syrup abuse. Sugar can be used to disguise unpleasant tastes or smells.

See also
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Excipient". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.