Powders

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 Introduction
• The term “powder” may be used to describe:
o the physical form of a material
o Pharmaceutical preparation, that is, a
medicated powder.
• A powder is defined as a dosage form composed
of a solid or mixture of solids reduced to a finely
divided state and intended for internal or external
use.

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 Applications

Powders can also aid in Doses can be individually

clinical studies of drug weighed and placed in
preparations because the dose powder papers, envelopes, or
can be so readily adjusted. small vials/bottles

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 Cont…

Powders enable a Powders provide a rapid

primary care provider onset of action because
to easily alter the require only dissolution,
quantity of medication not disintegration,
for each dose. before absorption.

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 Cont…

Infants and young children If a drug is too bulky to be

who cannot swallow tablets prepared as a capsule or
or capsules will accept tablet, it may be suitable for a
powders powder dosage form.

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 Physicochemical considerations
• Before, their use in the preparation of
pharmaceutical products, solid materials first are
characterized to determine their chemical and
physical features.
• Drugs usually require a chemical processing to
meet the requirements.
• This usually includes the adjustment and control
of a powder's particle size.

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 Particle size
• In order to characterize the particle size of a given
powder, (USP) uses these descriptive terms :
o very coarse
o coarse
o moderately coarse
o fine
o very fine.

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 Cont…

All particles pass through a No. 8 sieve.

Very coarse
●

●
Not more than 20% pass through a No.
(No. 8): 60 sieve.

All particles pass through a No. 20 sieve.

Coarse
●

●
Not more than 40% pass through a No.
(No. 20): 60 sieve.

Moderately ●
All particles pass through a No. 40 sieve.
coarse ●
Not more than 40% pass through a No.
(No. 40): 80 sieve.

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 Cont..

Fine
●
All particles pass through a No. 60 sieve.
●
Not more than 40% pass through a No. 100
(No. 60): sieve.

All particles pass through a No. 80

Very fine
●

sieve.
(No. 80): ●
There is no limit to greater fineness.

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• Granules usually fall within the range of 4 – 12 sieve size.
• although granulations of powders prepared in the 12- to 20-
sieve range are sometimes used in tablet making.
• The purpose of particle size analysis in pharmacy is to obtain
quantitative data on the size, distribution, and shapes of the
drug and other components to be used in pharmaceutical
formulations.

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 Factors influenced by
particle size
• 1. Dissolution rate of particles intended to
dissolve; drug micronization can increase the rate
of drug dissolution and its bioavailability.
• 2. Suspendability of particles intended to remain
undissolved but uniformly dispersed in a liquid
vehicle (e.g., fine dispersions have particles
approximately 0.5 to 10 μm)

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• 3. Uniform distribution of a drug substance in a
powder mixture or solid dosage form to ensure
dose-to-dose content uniformity
• 4. Penetrability of particles intended to be inhaled
for deposition deep in the respiratory tract (e.g., 1
to 5 μm)

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• 5. Lack of grittiness of solid particles in dermal
ointments, creams, and ophthalmic preparations
(e.g., fine powders may be 50 to 100 μm in size)

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 Particle size
determination
• A number of methods exist for the determination of particle
size
• Sieving
• Microscopy
• Sedimentation rate
• Light energy diffraction
• Laser holography
• Cascade impaction

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 Sieving
• In which particles are passed by mechanical
shaking through a series of sieves of known and
successively smaller size and the proportion of
powder passing through or being withheld on
each sieve is determined (range about 40 to 9,500
μm, depending upon sieve sizes)

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 Microscopy

• In which sample particles are sized through the use of a

calibrated grid background or other measuring device (range
0.2 to 100 μm).

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 Sedimentation rate
• In which particle size is determined by measuring the terminal
settling velocity of particles through a liquid medium in a
gravitational or centrifugal environment (range 0.8 to 300
μm).
• Sedimentation rate may be calculated from Stokes’ law

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 Light energy diffraction
or light scattering
• In which particle size is determined by the reduction in light
reaching the sensor as the particle, dispersed in a liquid or gas,
passes through the sensing zone (range 0.2 to 500 μm). Laser
scattering utilizes a He-Ne
• PHYSICAL laser, silicon photo diode detectors, and an
ultrasonic probe for particle dispersion (range 0.02 to 2,000
μm)

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 Laser holography
• In which a pulsed laser is fired through an aerosolized particle
spray and is photographed in three dimensions with a
holographic camera, allowing the particles to be individually
imaged and sized (range 1.4 to 100 μm).

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 Cascade impaction
• Which is based on the principle that a particle
driven by an airstream will hit a surface in its
path, provided its inertia is sufficient to overcome
the drag force that tends to keep it in the
airstream.
• Particles are separated into various size ranges by
successively increasing the velocity of the
airstream in which they are carried.

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