This document discusses powders and granules used in pharmaceutical formulations. It defines powders and granules and discusses their advantages. Particle size and shape are described. Hard and soft gelatin capsules are summarized, including their manufacturing and filling methods. Sustained release and enteric coated capsules are briefly outlined. Microencapsulation techniques like coacervation and pan coating are introduced. Spray drying is also mentioned as a microencapsulation method.

1. Powders and Granules
Dr. Basavaraj K. NanjwadeM. Pharm., Ph. D
Department of Pharmaceutics
Faculty of Pharmacy
Omer Al-Mukhtar University
Tobruk, Libya.
E-mail: nanjwadebk@gmail.com
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Tobruk, Libya.

2. CONTENTS
1. Definition, advantages, size shape, storage.
2. Hard gelatin capsules (shell manufacture filling).
3. Soft gelatin capsules (manufacturing and filling).
4. Sustained release and enteric coated capsules.
5. Formulation factors affecting bioavailability.
6. Microencapsulation (Introduction, advantages).
7. Coacervation phase separation technique.
8. Pan coating, electrostatic deposition, spry drying.
9. References.
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3. Definition of Powders
• A pharmaceutical powder is a mixture of finely
divided drug and/or chemicals in dry form.
• Powders are solid dosage form of medicament which
are meant for internal and external use.
• They are available in crystalline or amorphous form.
• The particle size of powder plays an important role in
physical, chemical and biological properties of the
dosage forms.
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4. Definition of Granules
• Granulation is the process in which primary powder
particles are made to adhere to form larger,
multiparticle entities called granules.
• Pharmaceutical granules typically have a size range
between 0.2 and 0.4 mm, depending on their
subsequent use.
• In the majority of cases this will be in the production
of tablets or capsules, when granules will be made as
an intermediate product and have a typical size range
between 0.2 and 0.5 mm.
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Tobruk, Libya.
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5. Advantages of
Powders and Granules
• Solid preparations are more chemically stable than
liquid ones.
• Powders and granules are a convenient form in which
to dispense drugs with a large dose.
• Orally administered powders and granules of soluble
medicaments have a faster dissolution rate than
tablets or capsules, as these must first disintegrate
before the drug dissolves.
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6. Particle Size
Powders and Granules
• Particle size is characterized using these terms :
i. Very coarse (#8)
ii. Coarse (#20)
iii. Moderately coarse (#40)
iv. Fine (#60)
v. Very fine (#80)
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7. Particle Shape
Powders and Granules
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8. Different shapes of crystals
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9. Hard gelatin capsules
(shell manufacture filling)
• These are used for administration of solid
medicaments.
• The capsule shell is prepared from gelatin, colour and
titanium dioxide to make it opaque.
• It consists of two parts i.e. body and cap.
• The powdered material is filled into the cylindrical
body of the capsule and then the cap is placed over it.
• The empty capsules are available in various sizes.
• They are numbered according to the capacity of the
capsules.
• The number starts from 000 and goes up to 5.2014/06/08 9
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Capsule number Approximate capacity in mg
000 950
00 650
0 450
1 300
2 250
3 200
4 150
5 100
Hard gelatin capsules
(shell manufacture filling)

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Hard gelatin capsules
(shell manufacture filling)

12. • The capsules can be filled either by hand or by a semi-
automatic device or by an automatic filling machine.
• Capsule filling machine (Hand operated) It consists of:-
1. A bed having 200-300 holes
2. A loading tray having 200-300 holes
3. A powder tray
4. A pin plate having 200-300 pins
5. A sealing plate having a rubber top
6. A lever
7. A cam handle
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Methods of filling the hard
gelatin capsules

13. Soft gelatin capsules
(manufacturing and filling)
• These are used for administration of liquid
medicaments. Soft gelatin capsules are available in
round, oval and tube like shapes.
• They are made from gelatin. The gelatin is plasticized
by the addition of glycerin and sorbitol etc.
• The soft gelatin shell may contain a preservative to
prevent the growth of fungi.
• They are used to enclose liquid medicaments-oils,
suspensions, food concentrates and ophthalmic
products.
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Soft gelatin capsules
(manufacturing and filling)

15. • Soft gelatin capsules are generally filled mechanically.
• The manufacturing of the capsule shell and the filling of
the medicament take place simultaneously. Nowadays, a
rotary machine is used for this purpose.
• Rotary die machine, the soft gelatin capsules are prepared
and then filled immediately with the liquid medicaments.
• The machine consists of two hoppers.
• Liquid gelatin mixture is placed in one hopper and the
liquid medicament in the other hopper.
• There are two rotating dies which rotate in opposite
directions.
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Method of filling of soft
gelatin capsules

16. Sustained release capsules
• In order to maintain a proper blood concentration of the
medicament and reducing the number of doses per day,
a capsule, containing numerous coated pellets, is
administered that release the drug successively over a
long period.
• The finely powdered drug is first converted into pellets.
• These pellets are treated with protective coatings that
delay the release of the drug.
• The batches of pellets are mixed thoroughly and
suitable doses are filled into capsules.
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17. Enteric coated capsules
• These capsules do not disintegrate in the stomach
(acid medium) but break-up in the intestine (alkaline
medium).
• A special type of treatment or coating is given to the
capsules so that these can pass unchanged through the
stomach but get disintegrated in the intestine.
• On a commercial scale, a coating of cellacephate
(cellulose acetate phthalate) and mixtures of waxes
with fatty acids or their esters is given.
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18. • The following categories of drugs need enteric
coatings.
1. Drugs which cause irritation to the gastric mucosa
and lead to nausea and vomiting.
2. Drugs which are destroyed by the gastric juices.
3. Drugs which are specially intended to act in the
intestine e.g. amoebicides and anthelminitics.
4. Drugs which are required to produce a delayed
action.
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Enteric coated capsules

19. Formulation factors
affecting bioavailability
• The types of dosage form and its method of preparation or
manufacture can influence bioavailability.
• Particular drug is incorporated and administered in the form
of a solution, a suspension or solid dosage form can
influence its rate and/or extent of absorption from the
gastrointestinal tract.
• The type of oral dosage form will influence the number of
possible intervening steps between administration and the
appearance of dissolved drug in the gastrointestinal fluids.
• Types of dosage form: aqueous solution > aqueous
suspensions > solid dosage forms (e.g. hard gelatin capsules
or tablets).
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Formulation factors
affecting bioavailability

21. Microencapsulation
(Introduction)
• Microencapsulation is a process or technique by
which thin coating can be applied to small particles of
solids, droplets of liquids or dispersion, thus forming
microcapsules.
• The microcapsules may consist of a single particle or
clusters of particles.
• It differs from other coating methods because
microencapsulation process is used to coat the
particles having a particle size range from several
tenths of a micro to 5000 µ.
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22. • Advantages of Microencapsulation Process
1. It is used for masking the taste of bitter drugs.
2. It is used for preparing prolonged action dosage form
3. It is used in modifying the physical characters of a
material required in certain formulations
4. The technique is used to separate an incompatible
material
5. It is used to protect chemicals against moisture and
oxidation.
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Microencapsulation
(advantages)

23. Coacervation
phase separation technique
• Coacervation means the separation of a liquid or phase
when solution of two hydrophilic colloids are mixed under
suitable conditions.
• In this method, the three immiscible phases of core material,
solvent and coating material are formed followed by
deposition of coating material on the core.
• The coating material is dissolved in a suitable solvent and
the core material is uniformly dispersed in the solution of
the coating material.
• Then the coating material is phased out of its solution which
starts getting deposited on the particles of the core material.
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24. Pan coating
• In this technique the coating is done in a pan made up
of copper or stainless steel.
• The pan is rotated with the help of an electric motor.
• The tablets to be coated are placed in the pan.
• Hot air is blown in, speed of the pan is adjusted in
such a way that the tablet remain separated from each
other in the pan.
• After coating, polishing is done in a polishing pan,
pan coating technique is used for sugar coating, film
coating and enteric coating.
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Pan coating

26. Electrostatic deposition
• The method is useful both for solid particles and liquid
droplets.
• In this process, the core and coating materials are
electrically charged by means of high voltage such as 10,
000 volts etc.
• The core is charged and placed in the coating chamber.
• The coating material is also charged before it is sprayed
as a mist.
• Because the charges are of opposite kind, the coating
material gets deposited on the core due to electrostatic
attraction.
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27. Spry drying
• The spray drying provides a large surface area for heat
and mass transfer by atomizing the liquid to small
droplets.
• Sprayed into a stream of hot air, so that each droplet
dries to an individual solid particle.
• Spry drying ensures good air circulation, facilitates heat
and mass transfer and encourages the separation of
dried particles from the moving air by the centrifugal
action.
• The character of the particles is controlled by the
droplet size, and so the type of atomizer is important.
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Tobruk, Libya.
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28. Spry drying
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29. THANK YOUe-mail: nanjwadebk@gmail.com
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Tobruk, Libya.