INTRODUCTION TO PHARMACEUTICS

DORCAS NGECHU

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 MODULE UNITS
1. Introduction and scope of pharmaceutics; definition of pharmaceutics,
component areas of pharmaceutics, relationship between pharmacy and other
disciplines, history of pharmacy, pharmacy profession emergence and
development.
2. Colloidal state and disperse systems; definition of colloidal state and disperse
system, classification, preparation and purification of colloids, properties of
colloids, physical stability of colloidal systems, coarse dispersions.
3. Interfacial phenomena; definition of surface and interface, surface tension and
surface free energy, measurement of surface and interfacial tension, classes of
surfactants, application of surfactants in pharmacy.
4. Adsorption: definition, types (Monolayer and multiplayer adsorption), physical
and chemisorptions and its isotherms, application of adsorption in pharmacy.
5. Rheology and flow of fluids. definition of rheology, rheological properties of
solids ,liquids and gases,Stress-elongation curve for solids, liquids and
gases,Viscosity in terms of shear rate and stress,Newtoniam and non-Newtonican
fluids,Types of non-Newtonian behavior,Time-dependant behavior.
6. Particle science and powder technology; the solid state, particle size analysis,
particle size reduction, particle size separation.

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 By the end of this unit, the learner
should be able to:
1. Definition of pharmaceutics
2. Component areas of pharmaceutics
3. Relationship between pharmacy and other disciplines
4. History of pharmacy
• Pharmacy profession emergence and development

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 Pharmacy
The Pharmacy word derived from the
Greek word “pharmakon” means drug.

Pharmacy is the art and science of preparing

and dispensing of drug

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 DEFINITION
The word pharmaceutics involves several processes that are
used in stages of obtaining the final pharmaceutical products
from raw materials and the processes of administering the
products into the body.
The word pharmaceutics is used in pharmacy and the
pharmaceutical sciences to encompass a wide range of subject
areas that are all associated with the steps to which a drug is
subjected towards the end of its development) i.e. the stages
that follow its
• Discovery or synthesis,
• Isolation and purification
• Testing for advantageous pharmaceutical effects and
absence of serious toxicological problems.

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 Definition
It is also called the science of dosage form design.
Pharmaceutics is the process that converts a drug into medicine.
• Drug -its any chemical or biological substances that causes
pharmacological activity in the body.(a drug react with the body to
produce side effects). Also known as a pharmacologically active ingredient
in a medicine
• A drug is a formulated with an active pharmaceutical ingredient(A.P.I) and
an excipient(inactive ingredient to facilitate drug delivery and good
disease management i.e flavouring agents, sweetening agents, buffers,
preservatives, antioxidants,
• Medicine -is any substance or process used to relieve the body from
disease or conditions i.e chloroquine relieve malaria
• Therapy-its relieving a disease.
• Disease can be relieved by a substance e.g. a drug or processes e.g.
surgery, radiotherapy, physiotherapy and psychotherapy.

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 cont

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 Raw material to final pharmaceutical product

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 pharmaceutics encompasses of:
– An understanding of the basic physicochemical
characteristics necessary for the efficient design
of dosage forms (physical pharmaceutics.)
– The design and formulation of medicine (dosage
form design)
– The manufacture of these medicines both on
small scale (compounding) and large scale (
pharmaceutical technology).
– The cultivation, avoidance and elimination of
micro-organisms in medicine. (pharmaceutical
microbiology)
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 PHYSICAL PHARMACY

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 They are three considerations in
design of dosage forms:
• The physicochemical properties of the drug itself
• Biopharmaceutical considerations- how the route of administration of a
dosage form affects the rate and extent of drug absorption in the body.
• The therapeutic consideration of the disease state to be treated which in
turn decides the most suitable type of dosage form and possible route of
administration and the suitable duration of action and dose frequency.
•

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 Component areas of pharmaceutics

• Physical Pharmaceutics- it is essential to study and understand the design

and preparation of dosage forms
• Design and formulation of medicine (dosage form design) i.e. tablets,
capsules, solutions, suspensions, emulsions, suppositories.
• Drug delivery systems i.e oral, rectal, topical, parenteral, respiratory,
ophthalmic, otic route.
• These modify and control the rates and extent of release of drugs from
dosage forms.
• Bioavailability and bio-pharmaceutics- the factors affecting frequency of
administration of various dosage forms and drug delivery systems.
• It also involves packaging considerations.
• Micro biological aspect of medicine development and production
•

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 cont

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 Route of administration and dosage
forms
Administration route Dosage form

Oral Solutions, suspensions, emulsions, powders, granules, capsules, tablets,

gels

Rectal Suppositories, ointments, creams, powders, solutions.

Topical Ointments, creams, pastes, lotions, gels, solutions, topical aerosols, foams,
transdermal patches.

Parenteral Injections (solutions, suspensions, emulsions forms), implants, irrigation

and dialysis solutions

Respiratory Aerosols (solution, suspension, emulsion, powder forms), inhalations,

sprays, gases,

Nasal Solutions, inhalations

Eye/ophthalmic Solutions, ointments, creams

Ear/otic Solutions, suspensions, ointments, creams

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 Evolution of pharmacy

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 HISTORY OF PHARMACY
The evolution of the profession of pharmacy can be divided into
five historical periods:
1. ANCIENT ERA-The beginning of time to AD 1600
2. EMPIRIC ERA-1600-1940
3. INDUSTRIALIZATION ERA-1940-1970
4. PATIENT CARE ERA-1970-present
5. BIOTECHNOLOGY AND GENETIC ENGINEERING ERA-The new
horizon

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 1. ANCIENT ERA
 Used leaves, mud, and cool water to stop bleeding and heal
wounds
 They used these methods by observing how animals heal
their wounds
 Documented experiences of healing onto clay tablets which
provided the earliest known written record.
 In Babylonia the earliest record of the practice of pharmacy
by the priest, pharmacist, and physician was kept.

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 ANCIENT ERA
 This is where the science of drugs, organized pharmacy
and medicine had its beginnings.
 Chinese used herbs

 Hippocrates-The Father of Medicine

 Theophrastus-The Father of Botany-early scientist.

 Mithridate -Father of Toxicology-Studied the adverse

effects of plants.
 Dioscorides-Father of Pharmacology. During the
Roman period
 Saints Cosmos and Damian of Pharmacy and
Medicine-twins who represent the closeness of medicine
and pharmacy.
 After the fall of the Roman Empire, the division of
pharmacy and medicine evolved.
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 Three major advances in
pharmacy occurred at this time
1. The formulary –a continuation of the documentation of the knowledge of
specific drug information to be used by pharmacists
2. Dosage form-drugs were no longer harvested from herb gardens. They
were incorporated into sweetened dosage forms, such as syrups,
confections, and juleps, mixed with sugar and honey.
3. pharmacy shop-first appeared in Baghdad in about AD 762.
 Between AD 1231 and 1240-The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II issued
an edict regulating medicine.
 For the first time, It legally recognized pharmacy as a separate profession
in Western Europe

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 ANCIENT ERA- advances
 During the Renaissance period of the Middle Ages,
Pharmacy went through many changes.
 Pharmacy became an independent profession.
 Pharmacy as a profession achieved status and became socially
accepted.
 University education of pharmacists were required.
 New chemical medicines were introduced that gave
pharmacists broader expertise

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 2. EMPIRIC ERA
 The Pharmacopeia became a regulatory tool for
pharmacists.
 Benjamin Franklin started the first hospital in 1751.
It had a pharmacy and the first hospital pharmacist was
Jonathan Roberts.
 1821 The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy was
founded.
 The major contribution of pharmacists to science
was in the area of chemistry.

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 3. INDUSTRALIZATION ERA
 The development of manufacturing pharmacy began.
 Rapid mass production of medicines followed.
 Standardization, biologically prepared products,
complex chemical synthesis, and increased use of
parenteral medications were all part of this period.

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 4. PATIENT CARE ERA
 The beginning of this era concentrated on
research to develop new medicines.
 Research on medications was done.
 New drugs were developed.
 Had a lot of adverse reactions to drugs so
drug review and monitoring resulted.
 Pharmacists began to take a more hands on
role in dispensing medications and patient
education.
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 THE FUTURE OF PHARMACY
 Research in the area of biotechnology and gene therapy
 Medications are being produced through recombinant DNA
technology-Biologics
 Biological medicines are medicines that are made by or
derived from a biological source, such as a bacterium, yeast or
blood. They can consist of relatively simple molecules, such as
human insulin or erythropoietin, or complex molecules such
as monoclonal antibodies
 New therapies for cancer, anemia, and hepatitis are
being introduced.

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 PHARMACY CAREERS

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 APPLICATIONS OF
PHARMACEUTICS
 An understanding of basic physical pharmacy
 Necessary for the effective design of dosage
form
 Applied in bio-pharmaceutics

 The design & formulation of medicines

 Manufacture of medicines on both a small &

large scale
 To know therapeutics effect of a medicine

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 Further Reading

• Aulton, M. (2008) The Science of Dosage Form

Design. 2nd ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
• Cooper, J. W., Gunn, C. and Carter, S. J. (1987)Cooper
and Gunn’s Dispensing for Pharmaceutical Students.
12th ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
• J. P. (1990) Remington’s Pharmaceutical Sciences. 17
th
ed. Pennsylvania: Remmington Mack Publishing Co.
•

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 QUESTIONS ?

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