White sugar and brown sugar in a bowl

The Different Dosage Forms Manufactured In The Industry

Pharmaceutical drugs are substances used to treat, prevent, or diagnose diseases and support well-being. Once extracted from plants, they’re now often made from organic compounds. Drugs may be used short-term or long-term and are supplied in liquid or solid forms to help with safe and effective delivery.

Considerations for Drug Formulation

Each drug form has unique benefits when it comes to effectiveness, ease of use, and safety. When choosing a form, a few key factors come into play:

 

  • Protecting the active compound from air and moisture to improve shelf life

  • Shielding the ingredient from stomach acid so it can be absorbed in the intestines

  • Controlling the release of the drug for longer-lasting effects

  • Masking bitter tastes to make oral drugs easier to take

Different Agents Used to Improve Oral Drug Palatability

To make oral drugs easier to take, certain agents are added to improve their taste, smell, and appearance.

  • Vehicles -These components are used to suspend or dissolve the drug and even to mask its taste.

  • Colouring agent - Application of colour to the drug form can make it visually appealing to the patient

  • Sweetener - Sweeteners are often added to liquid medicines to improve taste. Common examples include sucrose, cane sugar, saccharin, aspartame, and stevia. Saccharin is 5 times sweeter than sugar, non-caloric, and suitable for diabetics, though some studies have raised cancer concerns. Aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar, considered safe, and is broken down like protein—but it loses sweetness when heated. Stevia, 150 times sweeter than sugar, was once banned over safety concerns, but its purified form, steviol glycoside, is now approved in the US and Europe. It's stable in both heat and pH.

  • Flavourings - These can be added to the drug to mask the taste. Common flavourings added to oral medication include orange and strawberry fruit extracts.

Different Drug Forms: A Breakdown of the Most Common Types

Solid and liquid forms are the most common, and the choice often depends on how the drug needs to be delivered. Here's a look at the most widely used types.

Solid forms

Solid dosage forms are among the most widely used in pharmaceuticals. They offer stability, ease of handling, and accurate dosing. Below are the main types you'll find on the market today.

  1. Powders

Powders are the most common solid drug form. They can be measured into doses for both internal and external use. Effervescent powders, which release carbon dioxide when dissolved in water, are often used to make the medicine more palatable.

  1. Capsules

Capsules are typically made from gelatin or plant-based materials and can contain dry, oily, or liquid ingredients. They dissolve quickly in the body, though some are coated to resist stomach acid and release the drug in the intestines. While usually taken orally, certain capsules can also be used rectally or vaginally.

  1. Tablets

Tablets are another popular solid form of drug delivery. In this form the drug is mixed with various other ingredients such as binders, diluents and lubricants that enable the material to be moulded and compressed into the desired shape. Binders are agents that help the material particles to stick together. Depending on the size, weight and shape of a particular tablet, diluents may or may not be added. Lubricants are necessary to prevent the granules from sticking to the mixing machine and the pill or tablet press. Tablets, like capsules, may also be coated to improve their palatability or to create enteric tablets.

  1. Pellets

Pellets are sphere-shaped drugs formed through compression.

  1. Pills

Pills were powdered drugs that featured the active ingredients mixed with adhesive substances to create small dosage forms for oral administration; capsules and tablets have generally replaced pills nowadays.

  1. Lozenges and Troches

These forms are usually provided in flat, round shapes that can be dissolved by saliva in the mouth.

Liquid Forms

Drugs can be delivered in two liquid forms:

  1. An aqueous solution of one or more active drug ingredient dissolved in water

  2. A saline solution (a solution of sodium chloride)

These liquids are intended for injection and are shipped in appropriate sterile containers. Small quantities for injection are supplied in vials or glass ampoules. For administering via intravenous drips, the solutions of drugs are typically metered into a saline solution.

It is possible, in the case of drug compounds that are not soluble or poorly soluble in water, to create a suspension of the drug in an aqueous solution. Suspensions are more commonly used for medicines that are intended for oral administration.

Types of Suspensions

 

  • Emulsions - Emulsions are oil or fat suspended in water with the help of emulsifying agents like sodium stearate. These agents form stable micelles, preventing separation and improving stability—commonly used in oral meds.

  • Gels - Gels are semi-solid materials containing cross-linked molecules in water. They hold active ingredients and are typically used as ointments or lotions for topical application.

  • Magmas - Magmas are thick suspensions of poorly soluble substances in water, often called “milks” (e.g., milk of magnesia). They contain larger particles than gels and need shaking before use.

  • Mixtures - Mixtures are usually aqueous liquid preparations which contain suspended, insoluble, solid substances/drugs and are intended for internal use. The insoluble particles may be held in suspension by suitable suspending or thickening agents. The insoluble substance must be in very finely divided states and it must be uniformly distributed throughout the preparation. This is accomplished by using a colloid mill, special methods of precipitation and suspending agents. There are three main reasons for having the insoluble substance as finely divided as possible:

  1. If the mixture approaches the colloidal state by including kaoli, magnesium trisilicate, or magnesium phosphate, the more active the particles become when in contact with inflamed surfaces.

  2. Finely divided particles suspend more easily than large particles, enabling the mixture to become more homogenous. This is especially desirable when administering medication to form an evenly distributed, soothing, protective coating on the gastrointestinal tract.

  3. The palatability of many preparations is enhanced by using colloidal suspending agents.

Alcohol-based Preparations

Tinctures - A tincture is typically an alcoholic extract of plant or animal material or solution of such, or of a low volatility substance (such as iodine and mercurochrome).

Other External Forms of Drug Administration

Not all medications come as pills or capsules. External forms of drug delivery can offer faster relief, better absorption, or more targeted effects—especially when treating localized issues. Here's a look at some of the most common ones.

 

  1. Liniment

Liniments are liquid forms of drug that are applied by rubbing into the skin. These forms often contain anodyne compounds to alleviate pain and a rubifacient, which reddens the skin e.g. by causing dilation of the capillaries and an increase in blood circulation.

  1. Ointments

These drug forms are often semi-solid preparations in which the drug is incorporated into a base material. Ointment bases fall into four general classes:

  1. Hydrocarbon bases (oleaginous ointment bases) - these keep medicaments in prolonged contact with the skin, act as occlusive dressings, and are used chiefly for emollient effects.

  2. Absorption bases that either permit the incorporation of aqueous solutions with the formation of a water-in-oil emulsions, or are water-in-oil emulsions that permit the incorporation of additional quantities of aqueous solutions; such bases permit better absorption of some medicaments and are useful as emollients.

  3. Water-removable bases (creams) – these are oil-in-water emulsions containing petrolatum (petroleum jelly), anhydrous lanolin, or waxes; they may be washed from the skin with water and are thus more acceptable for cosmetic reasons; they favour absorption of serous discharges in dermatologic conditions.

  4. Water-soluble bases (greaseless ointment bases) containing only water-soluble substances.

  1. Lotions

Lotions are liquid forms, which are applied to the skin to protect, cool, cleanse, act as emollient and even provide antipruritic treatment.

  1. Paste

Pastes are ointment-like type of form where drugs and other solid substances (e.g., zinc oxide) are mixed together with an adhesive fatty base (e.g., petroleum jelly). Pastes are semi-solid preparations intended for topical application affected areas of the skin. Usually they are thick (contain 25% of solids by weight) and do not melt at normal temperature. Remain on the area for longer duration than ointments and are therefore generally more effective.

  1. Suppositories

A form where drugs are mixed together and molded into the desired shape to be inserted into the body cavity.

  1. Sprays

Sprays contain drugs in liquid form and are administered using an atomizer.

  1. Inhalants

These devices contain drugs and are administered by inhaling the vapour sent out from the inhalant and directly to the patient’s nasal passage.

Choosing the right dosage form is key to effective delivery—and so is having the right equipment. LFA Machines offers a full range of solutions to support your solid dose manufacturing. Explore our products or contact our team to learn more.

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