Views: 236 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2021-03-12 Origin: Site
Capsule in medicine refers to the capsule made of special film-forming materials (such as gelatin, cellulose, polysaccharide, etc.), and the contents (such as pill capsule filler, capsule filler powder or liquid type drugs, etc.) were put into it according to the dosage for easy swallowing.
The capsule is the shell that protects the drug. The drugs in capsules are usually powder or granule with irritation to esophagus and gastric mucosa, or drugs with bad taste, easy to volatilize, easy to be decomposed by saliva in oral cavity, and easily inhaled into trachea. These drugs are packed in capsules, which not only protect the drug properties from being damaged, but also protect the digestive organs and respiratory tract. Removing the capsule shell may result in drug loss, drug waste and drug efficacy reduction. In addition, some drugs need to be dissolved and absorbed in the intestine, and the capsules protect the drugs from being destroyed by gastric acid. The capsule can be made of auto capsule filling machine, semi automatic capsule machine and hand operated capsule filling machine.
Capsules are usually divided into hard capsules (also known as hollow capsules) and soft capsules. Hollow capsules are divided into three types, hard hollow capsules, soft hollow capsules and enteric coated hollow capsules. Soft capsule is a kind of product made of film-forming materials and contents at the same time. It mainly contains liquid or suspended drugs. Different fillers are put according to different models, such as 000 capsule filler, size 4 capsule filler, etc.
Hard hollow capsules are widely applied. According to the classification of transparency, it can be divided into three types, transparent (without pigment and titanium dioxide), translucent (with pigment but without titanium dioxide), opaque (with titanium dioxide).
The main material of hard hollow capsule is gelatin. The main materials of soft hollow capsules are gelatin and glycerin. The main material of enteric coated hollow capsules is gelatin or sodium alginate, and then it is coated with enteric coated materials, such as PVP as the bottom coat, and then the CAP for outer coating.
Hard hollow capsule can be divided into animal capsule and vegetable capsule.
The animal capsule made by gelatin capsule machine is made of gelatin (gelatin / gelatin) and pure water. Gelatin is a kind of protein material, which is mainly extracted from the skin, bone and tendon of animals. Glycerin or plasticizer is added in the production process as well. Gelatin is light yellow or yellow particles with high viscosity and easy to coagulate. It is insoluble in cold water and easy to dissolve in warm water. It can slowly absorb water equivalent to 5-10 times of its weight, and then expand and soften.
Vegetable capsule is mainly made of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and pure water. HPMC is made by extracting fibers from pine (non genetically modified plants). Vegetable capsule retains the advantages of all standard hollow capsules. It can be easily taken, effectively covering up the taste and smell, and the contents of the pill filler powder are transparent and visible. At the same time, it has a special connotation that traditional gelatin capsules do not have.
Colored capsules have edible pigments approved by the Department of Health, including red No. 6 and No. 7, yellow No. 4 and No. 5, and blue No. 1. In addition, there is titanium dioxide, which can be used not only as a white pigment, but also as a sunscreen.
When in automatic capsule making and medicine capsule taking, the appropriate materials and types can be chosen according to the specific situation.
