CAPSULES PRODUCTION. MICROCAPSULES.

HARD AND SOFT GELATIN CAPSULES

Capsules are solid oral dosage forms in which the drug is enclosed within a hard or soft shell. The shell is normally made from gelatin and results in a simple, easy – to – swallow formulation with no requirement for a further coating step. They can be eitherhard or soft depending on the nature of the capsule shell, with soft capsules possessing a flexible, plasticized gelatin fi lm. Hard gelatin capsules are usually rigid two – piece capsules that are manufactured in one procedure and packed in another totally separate operation, whereas the formulation of soft gelatin capsules is more complex but all steps are integrated.

There is a growing interest in using non – animal – derived products for formulation of the capsule shells to address cultural, religious, and dietary requirements. HPMC (e.g., V – caps, Quali – VC, Vegicaps) and pullulan shells (NPCaps) and starch are alternatives.

Hard – Shell Gelatin Capsules

Although the challenges of powder blending, homogeneity, and lubcricity exist for capsules as for tablets, they are generally perceived to be a more fl exible formulation as there is no requirement for the powders to form a robust compact. This means that they may also be more suitable for delivery of granular and beadlike formulations, fragile formulations that could be crushed by the normal compaction step. They are commonly employed in clinical trials due to the relative ease of blinding and are useful for taste masking.