PHARMACEUTICAL CALCULATIONS

ON
CONCENTRATIONS & DILUTIONS

Dr. Mohammad Bostanudin

 Scope of Pharmaceutical
Calculations
 chemical and physical properties of drug substances and pharmaceutical ingredients;
 biological activity and rates of drug absorption, bodily distribution, metabolism and excretion
(pharmacokinetics);
 statistical data from basic research and clinical drug studies;
 pharmaceutical product development and formulation;
 prescriptions and medication orders including drug dosage, dosage regimens, and patient compliance;
 pharmacoeconomics; and other areas.
 Scope of Pharmaceutical
Calculations

Success in performing pharmaceutical calculations is based on:

an understanding of the purpose or goal of the problem;
an assessment of the arithmetic process required to reach the goal; and,
implementation of the correct arithmetic manipulations.
International System of Units
Concentration & Dilution
 Concentration is the large quantity of a constituent divided by the total volume of a
mixture.
 Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: mass concentration,
molar concentration, number concentration, and volume concentration.
 The term concentration can be applied to any kind of pharmaceutical mixture, but
most frequently it refers to solutes and solvents in solutions.
 The molar (amount) concentration has variants such as normal concentration and
osmotic concentration.
Concentration & Dilution
Amounts Strength
 A preparation contains 850 mg of NaCl dissolved in water to produce 100
mL of solution. Express the concentration of the solution as an amount
strength.
 Setup proportional
Nacl
set 850 mg Z
Solution Volume 100 mL 1

 8.50 mg/mL = 0.0085 g/mL

Percentage Strength

The term percent and its corresponding sign (%) mean ‘‘by the hundred’’ or ‘‘in
a hundred,’’ and percentage means ‘‘rate per hundred’’
Percentage Strength

 Percent weight-in-volume (w/v) expresses the number of grams of a constituent

in 100 mL of solution or liquid preparation and is used regardless of whether
water or another liquid is the solvent or vehicle. Expressed as: % w/v.
 Percent volume-in-volume (v/v) expresses the number of milliliters of a
constituent in 100 mL of solution or liquid preparation. Expressed as: % v/v.
 Percent weight-in-weight (w/w) expresses the number of grams of a constituent
in 100 g of solution or preparation. Expressed as: % w/w.
Ratio Strength
 The concentrations of very weak pharmaceutical preparations (usually
weight-in-volume solutions) often are expressed in terms of their ratio
strengths.
 Ratio strength is another way of expressing percentage strength. For example,
a 1% w/v solution and a ratio strength of 1:100 w/v are equivalent.
 The preferable style of a ratio strength is to have the numeric value of the
solute as 1.
Ratio Strength
When a ratio strength, for example, 1:1000, is used to designate a concentration,
it is to be interpreted as follows:
For solids in liquids1 g of solute or constituent in 1000 mL of solution or liquid
preparation.
• For liquids in liquids 1 mL of constituent in 1000 mL of solution or liquid
preparation.
• For solids in solids 1 g of constituent in 1000 g of mixture.
Ratio Strength
2 L of an aqueous solution contains 50 mL of ethanol. Express this as ratio strength.

By ‘spotting’

r = 2000/50 = 40

The ratio strength is 1 in 40

Express 1 in 500 w/v solution of potassium permanganate as a
percentage
(unit = Grams of solute in 100 mL of solution)
potassium permanganate 1 x

Product (mL) 500 100

x = 100/500

 Potassium permanganate percentage = 0.2% w/v

 Converting expression of concentration from one to another.

 A solution contains 20 mL of ethanol in 500 mL of product. Express the concentration as a ratio

strength and as a percentage strength.

Volume ratio Percentage

Ethanol (mL) 20 1 P

Product (mL) 500 r 100

Calculating the amount of ingredient required to make up a percentage solution

 How many milligram of Aluminum Acetate are required to prepare

500 mL of a 0.03 w/v solution?

 By spotting,
 X = 30ˣ5

= 150
 150 mg of aluminum acetate is required to produce 500 mL of a 0.03%

w/v solution.
Parts per Million (PPM)

The strengths of very dilute solutions are commonly expressed in terms of parts
per million (ppm), i.e., the number of parts of the agent per 1 million parts of the
whole.

For example, we are all familiar with fluoridated drinking water in which fluoride

has been added at levels of between 1 to 4 parts per million (1:1,000,000 to

4:1,000,000) for the purpose of reducing dental caries.
Parts per Million (PPM)

1 ppm = 1 g per 1000 000 ml (BNF) mg/L

If the conc. of fluoride is 0.25 ppm w/v, how many liters would contain 1 mg of
fluoride?
0.25 ppm w/v means 0.25 g Fluoride per 1000000 ml
0.25 g means 250 mg Fluoride per 1000000 ml
Floride (mg) 250 1 γ= 1000 000/250
Products (mL) 1000 000 γ = 4000 mL
= 4L contains 1
mg
Dilutions
 A solution could be diluted whenever you add solvent to a solution.
 Adding solvent results in a solution of lower concentration.
 You can calculate the concentration of a solution following a dilution.
 Simple dilution
 100 mL of a 1 in 50 w/v solution is diluted to 1000 mL, Find the concentration of the diluted
product as a percentage strength, a ratio strength and an amount strength expressed as mg/mL

Ingredient (g) 1 g
Product (mL) 50 100 Hence g= 2

amount Percentage ratio Amount strength

Ingredient (g) 2 P 1 Z
Product (mL) 1000 100 R 1

The final concentration can be expressed as a percentage strength of 0.2% w/v

or Ratio strength 1 in 500 w/v or an amount strength of 2mg/ml
 Serial Dilution
 What volume of a 1 in 400 v/v solution is needed to produce 5 L of a 1 in 2000 v/v solution?
Answer
For 1 in 400 v/v: For 5L of 1 in 2000 v/v:
Ingredient (g) 1 x Ingredient (g) 1 x
Product (mL) 400 γ Product (mL) 2000 5000

From the second pair, by spotting : x = 5000/2000=2.5

Now putting x in the first pair of proportional sets: For 1 in 400 v/v:
Therefore, γ=400x2.5 =1000

1000 mL or 1L of the 1 in 400 mixture is diluted to 5 L to produce a 1 in 2000 product.

Concentrated Waters

Concentrated water such as: rose water, chloroform water and peppermint water
1 part in 39 part of water
If we calculate the value c: 1/40 = c/200 c=200/40 = 5

We therefore require 5 ml of chloroform water conc made up to 200 ml with

water to produce 200 ml single-strength chloroform water.
What about double strength chloroform water?
c=10
 Powder Calculation
Prepare 5 powders each containing 100 mg of paracetamol?
Answer: by setting up first the proportional sets for one and then for five powders
Number of powders 1 5

Paracetamol (mg) 100 a

Diluents (mg) γ b
Total weight (mg) 120 c

Y = 120 -100 = 20 mg
• a is the amount of paracetamol in 5 powders,
• b is the amount of diluents,
• c is the total weight of 5 powders

The ratio of powders is 1 to 5 so we calculate the value multiply by 5 So to prepare 5 powders each
containing 100 mg of paracetamol and add it to 100 mg of diluents
 Trituration
 If the minimum weight that can be done on a balance is 100 mg. How would you prepare 100 ml of a
preparation to the following formula?
 Hyoscine hydrobromide 500 µg
 Chloroform water QS 5 mL
Hyoscine hydrobromide (µg) 500 X
Chloroform Water Ws (mL) 5 100

 X = (500x100)/5= 10000 µg or 10 mg

Hyoscine hydrobromide (mg) 10 100

Chloroform Water Ws (mL) 100 Y

 Hyoscine hydrobromide, we would have to make this up to 1000 ml with Chloroform

water to get the required strength
 Q-Multiple Dilution
What weight of ingredient is required to produce 250 mL of a solution such that when 10 ml of it is diluted to 150 ml with
water it gives a 0.1% w/v solution?

Ingredient (g) Z Y Ingredient (g) Y 0.1

γ/150 = 0.1/100(mL)
Product 250 10 Product (mL) 150 100
γ=150x0.1/100 = 0.15 g
Putting this value into the first pair of proportion sets:
Calculating values are in the same ratio z/250=0.15/10 z=0.15x250/10 =3.75
Therefore we take 3.75 g of ingredient water
Mixing Concentration
27

Questions !

Thanks