Pharmaceutical Capsules Notes pdf

Pharmaceutical Capsules

Capsules are a solid dosage form enclosed in a hard shell or soft gelatin coating. When taken with water, the capsules' coating becomes slippery and easy to swallow.

Hard Gelatin Capsule

It is a solid dosage form in which medications are encapsulated in a two part empty hard gelatin capsule shell. The upper and small part is called ‘CAP’ and the remaining large part is called ‘BODY’. There are 8 different sizes of capsule shell (000, 00, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) with different fill volume. 

ii) Soft Gelatin Capsule

A softgel (or a soft gelatin capsule) is a solid capsule (outer shell) surrounding a liquid or semi-solid center (inner fill). An active ingredient can be incorporated into the outer shell, the inner fill, or both. These capsules are available in a variety of shapes, the common shapes being spherical, oblong and elliptical. Size wise also the range is bigger and capsules of capacities ranging from 0.1 ml to 30 ml are used. The composition of soft gelatin capsule shells is similar to the hard gelatin capsules except that a larger proportion of plasticizer is incorporated to make them soft and elastic.