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1. Gelatin: A derived protein obtained by the hydrolysis of collagen present in the connective tissues of
the skin, bones, and joints of animals. It is used as a food, in the preparation of pharmaceuticals, and as
a medium for culture of bacteria.
Hard Gelatin: Hard-shelled capsules, which are normally used for dry, powdered ingredients or
miniature pellets (also called spheroids that are made by the process of Extrusion and Spheronization -
Spheronization is a trade mark of Caleva Process Solutions) or tablets.
Both of these types of capsules share the main ingredient Gelatin:
Gelatin is a protein produced by partial hydrolysis of collagen extracted from the boiled bones,
connective tissues, organs and some intestines of animals such as domesticated cattle, pigs,
poultry, goats, dogs, cats, (from animal shelters that have been put down) and horses.
Gelatin melts to a liquid when heated and solidifies when cooled again. If gelatin is put into
contact with cold water, very little of the material dissolves.
The solubility of the gelatin is determined by the method of manufacture. Typically, gelatin can
be dispersed in a relatively concentrated acid. (stomach acids)
Gelatin also contains up to 15% Glutamic acid (MSG) by weight as a preservative (antibiotic)
The difference between Soft Gelatin and Hard Gelatin capsules is the amount of plasticizer
chemical that has been added to the formulation.
More Plasticizer, more rubbery, and pliable the capsule will be.
Introduction
Capsules are gelatin shells filled with the ingredients that make up an
individual dose. Dry powders, semi-solids, and liquids that do not dissolve gelatin may be
encapsulated. Capsules account for about 20% of all prescriptions dispensed.
Capsules have several advantages as pharmaceutical dosage forms:
1. They may be used to mask the unpleasant tastes, aromas, or appearance of a drug.
2. They allow powders to be dispensed in an uncompressed form, thus allowing for quicker
dissolution and absorption of the drug following oral dosing (as compared with tablets).

2. 3. They offer the pharmacist versitility to prepare any dose desired for a variety of
administration routes (e.g. oral, inhalation, rectal, or to be diluted for vaginal, rectal, oral
or topical use).
4. They may be easier than tablets for some people to swallow.
5. They can be make to alter the release rate of the drug.
Their disadvantages or limitations include the following:
• They are easily tampered with (although techniques exist for preventing this).
• They are subject to the effects of relative humidity and to microbial contamination.
• They may be difficult for some people to swallow.
• More expensive (commercially).
Hard Gelatin Capsules
The hard gelatin capsule consists of a base or body and a
shorter cap, which fits firmly over the base of the capsule. For
human use, eight sizes of capsules are available. The capacity
of each size varies according to the combination of drugs and
their apparent densities. Capsules are available as clear gelatin
capsules or in a variety of colors. The pharmacist can use the different colored capsules to
distinguish two capsule formulations for the same patient, or to encapsulate unattractive
ingredients. The pharmacist can add a dye to the powder before filling a clear capsule to impart a
color for identification or esthetics.
Some types of hard gelatin capsules have a locking cap, which makes it more difficult to reopen
the capsule.
To aid in the selection of the appropriate size, a table, with the capacity of five common drugs
for that particular size capsule, is printed on the box of the capsules. As a guide, the relative sizes
and fill capacities of capsules are given below. By knowing the bulk density of fill material,

3. proper choice of capsule size is usually made easier; however, trial and error soon develops the
judgment of the beginning pharmacist.
Capsule Size Volume ( ml) Mg of Lactose Mg of Aspirin
000 1.37 1340 1000
00 0.95 929 600
0 0.68 665 500
1 0.50 489 300
2 0.37 362 250
3 0.30 293 200
4 0.20 195 125
5 0.13 127 60
Hard gelatin capsules as a dosage form:
In the development of new medicines, there are several problems to be solved. As well as the
formulation, and its important stability and release-characteristics, control and reproducibility of the
production process are other factors to be taken into account and, increasingly, research costs and
development timeframes have also to be considered. When it comes to a decision at the end of phaseII,
which dosage form will be developed for the market, high production costs of hard gelatin capsule
products are generally assumed. This assumption is valid if the production costs are limited to the
comparison of the excipient costs only. When taking into account the total manufacturing costs, which
include the hidden costs coming from process equipment, GMP space required, total production time,
in-process controls, analytical, cleaning and validation work the comparison easily turns out in favor of
the capsule formulation .More. As the development costs for new medicines continue to rise, it is
becoming imperative to obtain international registration for the formulation. Ensuring that all new
entities conform to the various pharmacopoeias and regulatory requirements is yet another task for the
formulation scientist. Companies are aiming at achieving – reproducibly – a consistency of product
quality acceptable on a worldwide scale. As will be pointed out in the following chapters, the simplicity
of hard gelatin capsule formulation and manufacturing as well as the versatility of this dosage form
substantially supports these requirements.

4. Hard gelatin capsules with powder filling :
The production process Immediate-release capsules with a simple powder filling are the best-known
type of hard gelatin capsules. They require only a few manufacturing process steps. Usually, it is easy to
mix the active substance with excipients and to fill the mix into the capsules. Depending on the process
a light recompressions, to form a so-called 'plug', might also be necessary. The force used for pre-
compression is normally between20N and 30N, far below the usual pressure for tablets of 3 x 104N [12].
In comparison with conventional tablet production, capsule production does not require expensive and
time-consuming operations like repeated mixing and sieving, or granulation and compression .In
contrast, other types of oral dosage forms might also require a considerable number of excipients as
well as additional processing steps. This results in higher costs, partly due to the cost of excipients, but
also to increased analysis and validation costs, which can add as much as 15% to the overall cost of
production.
Use of excipients
One of the major initiatives of the pharmaceutical industry to reduce production costs in the past
decade was dedicated to the reduction of the raw materials and its stocks. The average number of
excipients in tablet, sugar coated tablet and hard gelatin capsule formulations are shown in Table 3.
Hard gelatin capsules usually require between one and four excipients, while some Five to eight are
needed in tablet formulation. Sugar coated tablets require at least nine excipients, since a special
formulation is used for the coating. Moreover, the addition of any excipient carries the potential risk for
promoting degradation of the drug molecule by an interaction with its functional groups or residues.
Capsule Machines & Procedure:
Capsule machines are available for filling 50, 100, and 300 capsules at a time. Each
manufacturer's machine is slightly different in its operation, but the series of operations is the
same. Capsules are first loaded into the machine. Most machines come with a capsule loader
which correctly aligns all of the capsules in the machine base. There are plates on the machine
base that can be adjusted. First, the plates are adjusted to hold the capsule bodies in place while
the caps are removed all at one time. The caps remain in place in the top of the machine for later
use. Then the plates are adjusted again so that the capsule bodies will "drop" into place so that
the tops are flush with the working surface of the plate.
The formulation powder is poured onto the plate and special spreaders and combs are used to fill
the individual capsules. Some manufacturer's have special shakers that will also help spread the
powder and fill the capsules. The powder is spread evenly over the plate, and the comb is used to
tamp and pack the powder into the capsules. These two processes are repeated over and over

5. again until the capsule bodies are filled with the powder. All of the caps are then simultaneously
returned to the capsule bodies, and the closed capsules are removed from the machine.
The machine has the advantage of filling many capsules in a timely manner. However, there is a
tendency to pack the capsules in the middle of the plate with more powder than the capsules
along the periphery. It takes practice to ensure that each capsule has the same amount of drug. A
quality control procedure should be executed with each batch of capsules produced with the
machine.
Final Processing:
Once the capsules have been compounded and the capsule closed, the pharmacist may want to
"seal" the capsule. The best way is to use "locking" capsules, where the body and cap lock
together, making it very difficult to open the capsule again. If using locking capsules, during the
filling process the cap is not completely closed onto the body in the weighing procedure to
determine the weight of powder in the capsule. The locking is done only one time and that is
after the capsule is correctly filled.
If locking capsules are not used, a seal can be made by touching the outer edge of the body with
a moist towel to soften the gelatin. Alternatively, a cotton swab dipped in warm water can be
rubbed around the inner edge of the cap. When the cap is closed on the body, it is slightly twisted
to form the seal.
When compounding and sealing are complete, the capsules may need cleaning to remove
fingerprints, traces of body oils, or loss powder from the capsule. Fingerprints and oils cannot be
effectively cleaned from capsules so the best way to prevent these problems is to wear gloves
during the compounding process. Any clinging powder can be removed by rolling the capsules
between the folds of a towel.
Another proposed cleaning method is to put the capsules in a container filled with sodium
bicarbonate, sugar, or sodium chloride, and gently roll the container. Then the container contents
can be poured into a ten-mesh sieve where the "cleaning salt" will pass through the sieve.
Capsules should be visually inspected and checked for:
• Uniformity - check capsules for uniformity in appearance and color.
• extent of fill - check capsules for uniformity of extent of fill to ensure that all capsules
have been filled.
• locked - check capsules to ensure that they have all been tightly closed and locked.
Quality Control
Section <795> of the USP 24/NF19 Supplement 1 requires that the capsule, "shall not be less
than 90% and not more than 110% of the theoretically calculated weight of each unit." This
"weight variation" requirement (discussed in Section <905> of the USP 24/NF19) measures the

6. variability in the amount of powder contained in each capsule. This procedure can be carried out
in all pharmacies.
The other Dosage Form Uniformity test of Section <905> is "content uniformity" which
measures the variability in the amount of active drug contained in each capsule. Most pharmacies
are not equipped to carry out content uniformity analyses since special analytical equipment is
required.It is possible to have capsules that pass the weight variation requirement but not have
content uniformity. This can occur if the material put into the capsules is not a homogenous
mixture of all the ingredients. Some capsules would then have more active drug than other
capsules. Appropriate mixing (i.e., geometric dilution) of all capsule ingredients into a
homogenous mixture before filling the capsules. In this manner, the weight variation data will be
sufficient to ensure the quality of the capsules.
Additional Considerations
Capsules are made of gelatin, sugar, and water and contain about 10% to 15% moisture. Gelatin
can absorb up to ten times its weight in water. So if gelatin capsules are placed in areas of high
humidity, they will become malformed or misshapened as they absorb moisture. On the other
hand, if capsules are placed in low humidity, they become dry and brittle and may crack. To
protect capsules from the extremes of humidity, they should be dispensed in plastic or glass vials
and stored in a cool, drug place. It appears that a storage relative humidity of 30% to 45% is best.
Cotton can be placed in the top of the vial to keep the capsules from rattling.
If powders that are being mixed before encapsulation are very light and fluffy and "difficult to
manage," add a few drops of alcohol, water, or mineral oil. As an alternative, mix these powders
in a plastic bag. If the powders seem to have a "static charge," use about 1% sodium lauryl
sulfate.
Magnesium stearate (less than 1%) can be added to powders to increase their "flowability" which
makes filling capsules easier. However, magnesium stearate is a hydrophobic compound and
may interfere with the dissolution of the powders.
Controlled Release Capsules
Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, or Methocel, is a cellulose derivative polymer that is used as a
hydrophilic matrix material. When Methocel hydrates, it forms a gel of such consistency that
drug diffusion through the gel can be controlled. A hydrophilic matrix controlled release system
is a dynamic system composed of polymer wetting, polymer hydration, and polymer dissolution.
At the same time, other soluble excipients or drugs will also wet, dissolve, and diffuse out of the
matrix while insoluble materials will be held in place until the surrounding polymer erodes or
dissolves away.
Initially, the surface becomes wet and Methocel polymer starts to partially hydrate forming a gel
layer on the surface of the capsule. As water continues to permeate into the capsule, the gel layer
becomes thicker, and soluble drug will diffuse out through the gel layer. Ultimately, water will

7. dissolve the capsule shell and continue to penetrate into the drug core. So release is controlled by
the dissolution of soluble drug into the penetrating water and diffusion across the gel layer.
To formulate a successful hydrophilic matrix system, the polymer substance must wet and
hydrate to form a gel layer fast enough to protect the interior of the capsule from dissolving and
disintegrating during the initial wetting and hydration phase. If the polymer is too slow to
hydrate, gastric fluids may penetrate to the capsule core, dissolve the drug substance, and allow
the drug to diffuse out prematurely. Even among the family of hydroxypropylmethylcellulose
products (Methocel E, F, and K), there are significant differences in the rate at which the
polymers will hydrate. This is due to the varying proportions of the two chemical substituents
attached to the cellulose backbone, hydroxypropoxyl and methoxyl substitution.
• The methoxyl substituent is a relatively hydrophobic component and does not contribute
as greatly to the hydrophilic nature of the polymer and the rate at which it will hydrate.
• The hydroxpropoxyl group does contribute greatly to the rate of polymer hydration.
As a result, Methocel K products are the fastest to hydrate because they have the lower amount
of the hydrophobic methoxyl substitution and a higher amount of the hydrophilic
hydroxypropoxyl substitution. The range of chemical substitution in Methocel products is shown
below.
Product % Methoxyl % Hydroxypropoxyl Relative Rate of Hydration
Methocel K 19-24 7-12 Fastest
Methocel E 28-30 7-12 Next Fastest
Methocel F 27-30 4-7.5 Slow
Methocel A 27.5-31.5 0 Slowest
Increasing the concentration of the polymer in a matrix system increases the viscosity of the gel
that forms on the capsule surface. Therefore, an increase in the concentration of the polymer
used will generally yield a decrease in drug diffusion and drug release. An increase in the
concentration of polymer also tends to put more polymer on the capsule surface. Wetting is more
readily achieved so gel formation is accelerated.
Measuring Drug Release
This sample experiment was conducted in water and showed that after 2.5 hours, release was still
continuing from the controlled release capsule.
Conventional Capsule Controlled Release Capsule
Clock
Time
Run
Time
Absorb. Conc.
Cum. Amt.
Released
Clock
Time
Run
Time
Absorb.Conc.
Cum. Amt.
Released

8. 2:40 0 0.000 0.0 0.0 2:35 0 0.000 0.0 0.0
2:55 15 0.005 0.00100.10 2:50 15 0.012 0.001 0.15
3:10 30 0.016 0.00170.17 3:05 30 0.031 0.003 0.27
3:25 45 0.031 0.00270.27 3:20 45 0.059 0.004 0.44
3:40 60 0.048 0.00370.37 3:35 60 0.089 0.006 0.63
3:55 75 0.065 0.00480.48 3:50 75 0.123 0.008 0.84
4:10 90 0.592 0.037 3.75 4:05 90 0.160 0.011 1.07
4:25 105 0.609 0.039 3.85 4:20 105 0.194 0.013 1.28
4:40 120 0.610 0.039 3.86 4:35 120 0.240 0.016 1.56
4:55 135 0.614 0.039 3.88 4:50 135 0.287 0.019 1.85
5:10 150 0.612 0.039 3.87 5:05 150 0.302 0.019 1.95
The same experiment was repeated in 0.01N HCl.
Conventional Capsule Controlled Release Capsule
Clock
Time
Run
Time
Absorb.Conc.
Cum. Amt.
Released
Clock
Time
Run
Time
Absorb. Conc.
Cum. Amt.
Released
2:20 0 0.000 0.0 0.0 2:15 0 0.000 0.0 0.0
2:35 15 0.301 0.014 1.38 2:30 15 0.030 0.000440.044
2:50 30 0.808 0.039 3.87 2:45 30 0.176 0.0076 0.76
3:05 45 0.815 0.039 3.90 3:00 45 0.368 0.017 1.71
3:20 60 0.822 0.039 3.94 3:15 60 0.516 0.024 2.48
3:35 75 0.800 0.038 3.83 3:30 75 0.637 0.030 3.03
3:50 90 0.800 0.038 3.83 3:45 90 0.740 0.035 3.54
4:05 105 0.804 0.039 3.85 4:00 105 0.814 0.039 3.90

9. The "rate of release" is determined by
plotting the Cumulative Amount Released versus some function of time. For matrix diffusion
controlled release, adaptations of the Higuchi equation are used; time is expressed as the square
root of time and has units of minutes1/2. A linear trendline is fit through the points that occur
after a lag time or before any asymptotic values are reached. The release of salicylic acid in
0.01N HCl is shown in the plot below. The conventional capsule apparently released all of its
contents by 30 minutes, since after that time the amount released remained constant. The release
rate was 1.55 mg/minutes1/2 which is almost three times as fast as seen with the controlled
release capsule. But more importantly, the controlled release capsule continuously releases drug
for hours, where the conventional capsule released all the drug within 30 minutes.
Refferences: http://pharmlabs.unc.edu
www.authorstream.com/
wiki.answers.com
dictionary.reference.com/browse/capsule
Books: Pharmaceutical technology (Aulton)
Introduction to Pharmaceutics Part I (A K Gupta)