UNIT 3 CAPSULES

Capsules: introduction

 Capsules are solid dosage forms available in small soluble shells,

enclosed with accurately measured drug substances.
 Hard gelatin capsules are used to enclose solid substances
 Soft gelatin capsules are used to enclose semisolids and liquids.
 They usually contain single dose of drugs and are intended for oral
administration.

Hard gelatin capsules

 Hard gelatin capsules contain substances in a dry powdered form

enclosed in a shell which consists of Body and Cap.
 Basic components of hard gelatin capsules:
 Gelatin
 Plasticizer
 Colorants
 Opacifying agents
 Preservatives
Production of hard gelatin capsule shells
Mechanisms involved:
Dipping
Spinning
Drying
Stripping and Trimming
Joining
Dipping: capsules shells are manufactured by dipping cool stainless steel metal
bars into an aqueous gelatin solution maintained at about 50 degrees centigrade.
Spinning of the dip-coated pins: after absorption of the gelatin solution on to the
surface of the pins, the bar containing the pins is rotated number of times to
evenly distribute the gelatin solution around the pins, as uniform gelatin
distribution helps to form appropriate thickness of the capsule wall.
Drying of the gelatin-coated pins: once the gelatin is uniformly distributed on
the mould, a blast of cool air is introduced to set the gelatin on the mould.
During this time, the gelatin is dried, and the pins are moved through a series of
drying stages for attaining optimum level of moisture content.
Stripping & Trimming: After the gelatin is dried, the capsules are then stripped
off the mould by Bronze jaws and trimmed to the desired length.

Joining of the trimmed capsule shell: Once trimmed, the two halves (the cap and
body) are joined to the pre-closed position using a pre lock mechanism. During
this stage, printing and packing are done and packed in cartons for shipping.
Filling
The filling of hard gelatin capsules is an established technology, with equipment
ranging from small-scale manual filling, through intermediate-scale, semi-
automatic filling to large-scale fully automatic filling.
Filling of Hard Gelatin Capsule steps involved in filling of Hard Gelatin
Capsule: