Capsules

● Capsules are solid-dosage forms that are most commonly composed of

gelatin and are designed to contain a drug-containing formulation.
Advantages:
● The use of capsules avoids many unit operations that are associated with
the manufacture of tablets, e.g. compression, granulation, drying.
● Capsules (generally soft gelatin capsules) may be formulated to increase
the oral bioavailability of poorly soluble therapeutic agents. This is
particularly the case when formulated as a liquid-filled hard gelatin or soft
gelatin capsule.
● Capsules are a convenient method by which liquids may be orally
administered to patients as a unit dosage form.
● The stability of therapeutic agents may be improved in a capsule
formulation.
Disadvantages:
● The requirement for specialized manufacturing equipment
● Potential stability problems associated with capsules containing liquid fills
● Problems regarding the homogeneity of fill weight and content may be
associated with capsule formulations.
● Capsules may be classified as either soft or hard depending on the nature
of the capsule shell.
●These differ in both their mechanical properties and in capsule design.
Hard gelatin capsules: are less flexible and are composed of two pieces,
termed the cap and the body.
Soft gelatin capsules: are more flexible and are composed of a one piece
capsule shell.
● Normally, hard gelatin capsules contain 13% to 16% of moisture.
However, if stored in an environment of high humidity, additional moisture is
absorbed by the capsules, and they may become distorted and lose their
rigid shape.
● A wide range of formulation types may be included within the interior of
the capsule. For example, powders, tablets, semisolids and non aqueous
liquids/gels may be filled into hard capsules, with powders being the most
common formulation option.
● Soft gelatin capsules are usually filled with non-aqueous liquids containing
the therapeutic agent either dispersed or dissolved within this carrier.
● In an environment of extreme dryness, some of the moisture normally
present in the gelatin capsules is lost, and the capsules may become brittle
and crumble when handled. Therefore, it is desirable to maintain hard
gelatin capsules in an environment free from excessive humidity or dryness.
Materials and manufacture of capsule shell:
● Capsules are primarily (but not exclusively) manufactured using gelatin;
however, the suitability of other materials, e.g. hydroxypropylmethylcellulose
and starch, has been investigated as suitable replacements.
● Gelatin is a mixture of purified protein fractions obtained from irreversible
hydrolytic extraction of collagen obtained from the skin, white connective
tissue, and bones of animals. By either partial acid or partial alkaline
hydrolysis.
● Its physical and chemical properties depend on the parent collagen,
method of extraction and pH value.
● Type A gelatin is derived from an acid-treated precursors.
●Type B gelatin is from an alkali-treated precursor.
● The iso electric points of type A and type B gelatin differ (between 7 and 9
and between 4.7 and 5.3, respectively), resulting in differing solubilities as a
function of pH.
● The use of gelatin as a capsule material is principally due to the excellent
physicochemical and biological properties of this material, including:
→ Non-toxic material, being used widely as a component of foods.
→ Soluble in biological fluids at room temperature.
→ Excellent mechanical properties, most notably exhibiting good film, and
hence capsule-forming properties.
→ Excellent rheological properties at elevated temperatures.
→ Undergoes a sol–gel transition at relatively low temperatures.
● More recently, the production of gelatin using bovine sources has
received considerable attention due to the possible transmission of bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE/TSE certificate).
● Also Halal Certificate is needed.
● Capsule shell can be made from either one. However, the best shell is the
one that made from mixture of both.
● Main Specification required for gelatin is the Bloom strength.
● The bloom or gel strength of gelatin is a measure of the cohesive strength
of the cross linking that occurs between gelatin molecules and is
proportional to the molecular weight of the gelatin.
● The higher the bloom strength of the gelatin used, the more physically
stable is the resulting capsule shell.
● The cost of gelatin is directly proportional to its bloom value.
● Other ingredient in capsule shell :
→ Plasticizer:(More common for soft gelatin capsules)
● are added to gelatin to reduce the rigidity of the polymer and make it more
flexible.
●The ratio of plasticizers to gelatin determines the hardness of the shell.
● Common examples of plasticizers are glycerine and polyhydric alcohol.
Water is also a good plasticizer and is naturally present in the gelatin.
→ Colourants:
● Most frequently, hard gelatin capsules are coloured to enhance the
aesthetic properties and also to act as a means of identifying the product.
→ Opacifying agents:
● Opacifiers (e.g., titanium dioxide) may be included to make clear gelatin
opaque. Opaquse capsules may be employed to provide protection against
light or to conceal the contents.
→ Preservatives:
● Preservatives (often parabens esters)
Hard Capsule Shell Synthesis:
Include different steps:
Dipping → Spinning → Drying → Stripping → Trimming → Joining
Dipping: Cold pins of a specified size are dipped into a hot gelatin solution
of a controlled viscosity. Solution viscosity, rate and time of dipping will
determine the shell thickness. Both cap and body are dipped in the same
time into a solution of similar viscosity.
Spinning: Pins are rotated to distribute the gelatin uniformly during which
the time the gelatin bay be set or gelled by a blast of cool air.
Drying: The pins are moved through a series of controlled air drying kilns
(oven) for the gradual and precisely controlled removal of water.
Stripping: The capsules are stripped from the pins.
Trimming: Capsules halves are trimmed to exact length.
Finally the capsules halves are joined to each other and ejected from the
machine.
● Incorporation of other constituents of the capsule, excipients may be
included within the heated gelatin solution, e.g. colorants, wetting agents
and lubricants.
PRODUCTION OF HARD CAPSULE DOSAGE FORM:
● In developing a capsule formulation, the goal is to prepare a capsule with
accurate dosage, good bioavailability, ease of filling and production,
stability, and elegance.
● Hard gelatin capsules are used to encapsulate about 65 mg to 1 g of
powdered material.
● The smallest capsule (No. 5) may be expected to hold 65 mg of powder or
more, depending on the characteristics of the powder.
● Use of the smallest size capsule, properly filled, is preferred.
● A properly filled capsule should have its body filled with the drug mixture,
not the cap.
Formulation Components:
● The capsule seldom contains only the active ingredient and most capsule
formulations require the use of diluents, lubricants, glidants, disintegrants
and wetting agent.
●The excipients used for capsule formulation are same as those used for
tablet formulations and hence are not explained in detail here. However, few
general considerations are followed:
→ The powder mix must provide the type of flow characteristics required by
the equipment. In the case of powder filling machines, powder must be free
flowing. In the case of slug filling machines, the powder must have sufficient
cohesiveness to retain its slug form during delivery to the capsules.
→ Reactions at elevated temperatures and humidities should be studied, for
effects not only on the contained powder mixture, but also on the gelatin
capsules.
Key aspects of formulation components:
→ Compatibility with gelatin
● When starting to formulate a hard gelatin capsule, the first thing to study
is compatibility of formulation component with the gelatin shell.
Incompatibilities are known to occur with substances that contain reactive
carbonyl groups.
→ Hygroscopic compounds
● Hygroscopic compounds can have a negative influence on the formulation
of hard gelatin capsules.
● If a substance is highly hygroscopic, it might absorb water from the
capsule shell. This process can lead to brittleness of the shell, which might
break under mechanical strain.
→ Moisture sensitivity of the drug substance
● If the drug substance in the capsule is sensitive to humidity the water
content of the shell, which is normally between 13% and 16%, can lead to
the degradation of the drug substances.
● As with hygroscopic substances, the addition of mannitol can prevent
damage to the substance caused by the humidity of the shell or the
environment.
→ Particle shape / Particle size
● To achieve content uniformity on filling machines, it is vital to have an
adequate powder flow. Flow of blend is mainly dependent on shape and
size of the particles as well on inter-particulate cohesion.
→ Wetting / disintegration properties
● The wetting properties of the filling are of critical importance to the release
of the substance. When using hydrophobic drug substances, especially if
they are high-dose, an appropriate disintegrant should be added.
Filling of hard gelatin capsules:
General properties of solid fills:
There are several general properties of powders that should be recognised
when formulating these as capsule fills, as follows:
● The particle size distributions of the various components of the powder
mix (including the therapeutic agent) should be similar both to ensure
homogeneous mixing and to minimize segregation.
● It is preferable that the particle size distribution of the powder blend is
both monomodal and exhibits low polydispersity (low standard deviation) to
ensure predictable and reproducible flow during the filling process.
●Conversely, multimodal and polydisperse powder mixes will exhibit a
tendency to segregate, with resultant problems associated with the
homogeneity of the mix and a gradual increase in fill mass as a function of
filling time.
● Problems may occur during the filling of particles with an irregular shape
(e.g. needle shape).
●The large-scale or small-scale preparation of filled hard gelatin capsules is
divided into the following general steps:
1. Developing and preparing the formulation and selecting the capsule size.
2. Filling the capsule shells
3. Capsule sealing (optional)
4. Cleaning and polishing the filled capsules
● Liquid/semisolid fills for hard gelatin capsules may be subdivided into
various categories:
→ Lipophilic liquids/oils containing dissolved or dispersed therapeutic agent.
Examples of the types of liquids that are commonly used in this category
include:
Vegetable oils (e.g. sunflower, arachis, olive)
Fatty acid esters (e.g. glyceryl monostearate).
→ Water-miscible liquids containing dissolved /dispersed therapeutic agent.
Examples of the types of liquids that are commonly used in this category
include:
Polyethylene glycols (PEGs) that are solid at room temperature but will
liquefy upon heating (e.g. highermolecular-weight PEGs)
Liquid polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene block co-polymers (Pluronics).
● To stabilise the liquid fill formulations for hard gelatin capsules, other
excipients will be required, e.g.
→ Surface-active agents:
These are included in liquid fills for hard gelatin capsules to:
– Solubilise the therapeutic agent within the solvent
– Stabilise the suspended therapeutic agent
– Enhance the dissolution of poorly water-soluble therapeutic agents within
the gastrointestinal tract.
→ Viscosity-modifying agents
These are included in liquid fills or hard gelatin capsules to:
– Stabilise the suspended therapeutic agent.
– Modify the viscosity of the formulation to optimise filling of the capsule.
Typically, viscosity values within the range of 0.1–25 Pa/s are considered to
be acceptable as liquid fills for hard gelatin capsules.
Filling of hard gelatin capsules
● There are two main methods by which powders are filled into hard gelatin
capsules, termed dependent and independent methods.
→ Dependent method (dosing system).
● In this method the lower half of the capsule is placed into slots that are
located within a revolving turntable. The upper part of the capsule is also
housed in a similar turntable.
● The turntable containing the lower half of the capsule (which may be
rotated at a range of speeds) is rotated under a hopper that contains the
powder formulation and, as a result, the powder falls into the capsule.
● At the end of the operation the two capsule halves are brought together to
form the finished dosage form.
● The mass of powder that is dispensed into each capsule is dependent on
the length of time that the hopper spends above the capsule (which is itself
dependent on the speed of rotation of the turntable).
● At the end of the filling process the filled capsules are removed from the
turntable.
→ Independent method (dosing system):
● The independent method of capsule-filling involves the physical transfer of
a plug of powder from the mixed powder into the capsule.
● In this method a tube, which contains a spring-loaded piston, is depressed
into a powder bed enabling a volume (plug) of powder to enter the tube.
● The tube (containing the plug of powder) is then elevated out of the
powder bed, rotated and located above the lower half of the capsule and the
plug of powder is dispensed into the capsule by the depression of the
piston.
● The filling of liquids/semisolid formulations into hard gelatin capsules is
most frequently performed using a volumetric dosing system.
● If the rheological properties of the fill are particularly responsive to
temperature, filling is performed at temperatures in which the fill is in the
liquid state.
Capsule Sizes:
● Empty gelatin capsules are manufactured in various lengths, diameters,
and capacities.
● The size selected for use is determined by the amount of fill material to be
encapsulated.
● The density and compressibility of the fill will largely determine to what
extent it may be packed into a capsule shell.
● Empty capsules ranging in size from 000 (the largest) to 5 (the smallest)
are commercially available.
● The empty capsules are sold by size.
● The once most commonly employed for human use range from size 0 (the
largest) to size 5 (the smallest).
● Size 00 capsules may occasionally be used if the amount to be filled is
large (capacity ~ 960 mg).