Topic 1

INTRODUCTION TO
PHARMACOTECHNICS
Teacher:
M.Sc. Evelin Paredes Choque
PHARMACEUTICAL
DEFINITION OF GALENICAL
PHARMACY

The term "Galenic" was coined in honor of

Galen (2nd century: 129 [Pergamum]-216
[Rome]), who not only became a medical
authority, but also a pharmaceutical
authority. Thanks to the great work of Galen as a tireless
compiler of the medical knowledge of the time and
perfecter of both Hippocratic theories and pharmaceutical
practice, a subject dedicated to the study of the
composition of medicines was born. This subject was
called "Galenic Pharmacy."
 GALENIC PHARMACY CONCEPT

Claudius Galenus
(2nd century: 129 [Pergamum]-216 [Rome])
Today the term "galenic pharmacy" refers to the set of
knowledge necessary for the formulation, control and
 DEFINITION OF GALENIC PHARMACY

preparation of a pharmaceutical form that guarantees the

safety and therapeutic efficacy for which it was designed.
Starting from the previous definition, galenic pharmacy
covers many different subjects within the field of
pharmaceutical sciences, all of them related to the phases
of the galenic development of a drug.
 DEFINITION OF TECHNOLOGY

PHARMACEUTICAL

One of the most extensive subjects that galenic pharmacy

includes: "pharmaceutical technology or
pharmacotechnics."
Technology should be understood, according to the
definition given by the dictionary of the Royal Academy
of Language, the “set of knowledge inherent to a
mechanical trade or industrial art.” If the term
pharmaceutical is applied to it, we are referring to the set
of knowledge applicable to the art of preparing
medicines.
In short, Pharmaceutical Technology deals with all
aspects related to the design, preparation and evaluation
 DEFINITION OF TECHNOLOGY

PHARMACEUTICAL

of medication dosage forms.

 WHAT IS PHARMACOTECHNICS?

o It is the science that studies the various manipulations to

which different raw materials must be subjected, with the
aim of giving them the appropriate shape for can be
administered to living beings, according to the dose and
indications pre-established by the
clinical experimentation, or prescribed by the doctor,
dentist or veterinarian.
 WHAT IS PHARMACOTECHNICS?

o Derived from the Greek pharmakon = medicine, techné =

art.
PHARMACOTECHNICS: FROM ART TO SCIENCE

The preparation and formulation of

medications was considered an art
for a long time, and its study as a
discipline was made up of a large
amount of empirical and
descriptive knowledge that has now
been transformed into a set of
notions of high scientific rigor.
andaccelerated
development.
PHARMACOTECHNICS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH

OTHER SCIENCES

Pharmacology

Physic Physiology
al
Pharmacotechnic
s
Biochemistr Chemistr
y y

Pharmacognosy
and Phytochemistry
 SOME DEFINITIONS
PHARMACOTECHNICS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH

OTHER SCIENCES

o The problem of the medication, from its genesis to the

achievement of a pharmacological response, can be
represented according to the following scheme in
which the most significant phases are indicated:

Genesis of a Manage
Developme Elaboration Answer
medicine -tion
nt

*Chemical Area
*Technological Area
*Biological Area
Medication : All product
that,
Conveniently administered to the body, it is capable
of preventing, curing, palliating or diagnosing a
pathological state.

Active ingredient or drug : It is the appearance of a

pharmacological effect that allows the desired
purpose to be fulfilled, after administering a
medication in a pathological situation.
 SOME DEFINITIONS

EXAMPLE OF FORMULATION OF
SYRUP

Ferrous Sulfate Syrup.

Composition:
Ferrous sulfate………..…. 9,5%
Citric acid……………….. 0,85%
Saccharose…………………. . 75%
Nipagin……………………… 0,25%
Nipazol……………………... 0,025%
Erythrosine red dye……. 0,165%
Flavoring…………………… 1%
Purified Water csp………… 100mL
Dosage Form : It is considered as the product resulting
from the technological process that gives the
medication appropriate characteristics for its
administration, correct dosage and therapeutic
efficacy. Although the name dosage form better
captures the above definition, however, the use of
pharmaceutical form is also very common, so both
definitions can be considered synonymous.
The objectives pursued with the transformation of an
active ingredient into a dosage form are very
numerous; It is worth noting, as most common, the
following:
 SOME DEFINITIONS

o Enable the administration of active ingredients used

in very reduced doses.
o Protect the active ingredient from atmospheric
agents.
o Protect the active ingredient from the destructive
effects of the gastric environment.

o Improve the organoleptic characteristics of the active

ingredient.
o Provide liquid forms from solid active ingredients.

o Enable the administration of active ingredients

 through a certain route.
o Control the absorption of the active ingredient.

o Selectively direct the active ingredient to certain

organs or tissues.
 ROUTES OF ADMINISTRATION OF

MEDICINES

The possibilities of administering a medicine to an

organism are currently very numerous, given the high
number of administration routes, some of which are listed
in the table.
 INSTEAD OF TYPE OF ADMINISTRATION
ADMINISTRATION
Heart Intracardiac
Arteries Intra-arterial

Veins Intravenous

Mouth Oral

Gastrointestinal tract Peroral

Straight Rectal

Urethra intraurethral

Vagina Vaginal

Fur Cutaneous

Transdermal

Subcutaneous tissue Subcutaneous

Muscle Intramuscular

Nasal Cavity intranasal

Conjunctiva Conjunctival
Lung Pulmonary
 SHAPE CLASSIFICATION

PHARMACEUTICALS ACCORDING TO THE LOCATION

OF ADMINISTRATION

If the site of administration is combined with the physical

state of the dosage form, the following classification of
dosage forms can be established:
PLACE OF ADMINISTRATION PHYSICAL STATE DOSAGE FORM
Oral Solid
Capsules, tablets, dragees, granules.

Oral solutions, syrups, elixirs, oral

Liquid
suspensions and emulsions.

Rectal Solid Suppositories

Liquid Enemas

parenteral Solid Implantation tablets.

injectable solutions,
injectable suspensions and emulsions.
Liquid

Skin and mucous membranes Semisolid Ointments

Liquid
Eye drops, nasal drops and ear drops.

Aerosol sprays
Gas
 SOME DEFINITIONS

Therapeutic systems : These are dosage forms that

release one or more active ingredients continuously,
under a pre-established schedule and for a specific
period of time.
The process of transforming an active ingredient into a
medicine involves the incorporation of a series of
auxiliary substances called excipients, and a series of
processes, more or less complex, which in turn can be
constituted by a series of standard operations, known
as unit operations or basic operations .
Excipients : They are substances or mixture of
substances lacking, by themselves, pharmacological
 SOME DEFINITIONS

activity that are used together with the active

ingredient to facilitate the preparation and use of the
medication. In some cases the purpose of an excipient
is to make it possible to obtain a certain dosage form,
such as when an excipient that comes from a mixture
suitable for obtaining a tablet is added to an active
ingredient.
In other cases, the excipient has to do with maintaining
the integrity of the active ingredient, not only during
the operations to obtain a dosage form, but also during
the storage period of the medicine until its
administration to an organism.
 SOME DEFINITIONS

Basic operations : The inclusion of an active ingredient

in a dosage form can be a long process that requires a
certain number of manipulations, each of which is
known as a basic operation. For example, if we want to
obtain a tablet, we may need to spray the active
ingredient until it has the appropriate particle size.
Next, the excipient(s) that would be mixed with the
active ingredient are incorporated and, finally, the
mixture obtained is compressed. Spraying, mixing and
compression would constitute, in this example, the
 SOME DEFINITIONS

basic operations used to obtain the tablet.

Fig. 3 Unit operations of wet granulation