POWDER & CAPSULE

Pn. Suryati Bt. Syafri

2013

LOGO

LEARNING OUTCOMES
1

Distinguish the type of capsules, tablets and powder.

List the ingredients and composition properties required to

prepare capsules, tablets and powder

Explain the procedure and technique used to prepare

capsule, tablet and powder.
Describe appropriate uses of pharmaceutical powders and
granules, capsule and tablets.

4
5

Demonstrate and calculate geometric dilution technique.

Select an appropriate packaging for the compounded

capsules, tablets and powder
List the labeling and storage requirement for capsules,
tablet and powder

7
.

DEFINITION
Powders are intimate mixture of dry, finely divided
drugs that may be intended for internal or
external use.
It may be as :
dosage form or pharmaceutical preparation.
example : medicated oral powder
beginning point for the other dosage forms
(tablet, capsules, etc..)

Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages
It is more stable than liquid
dosage form
Provide a rapid onset of
action
A powder is convenient form
in which to dispense a bulky
drug that has a large dose
It can be administered easily
to infants and young children
who cannot swallow tablets
or capsules

Disadvantages
Inaccuracy of dose( size of
measuring spoon, density of
powder, humidity, degree of
settling , fluffiness.
Unsuitability for many
unpleasant tasting,
hygroscopic and deliquescent
drugs.
They are bulky to carry

Types of Powders
1- Divided powders
- packets
- capsules
2- Undivided (Bulk) powders
External use : dusting powder
Internal use : effervescence
powder/granule

BULK POWDER INTERNAL

Oral Powders - These generally are supplied as finely

undivided powders or effervescent granules.

The finely undivided powders are intended to be

suspended or dissolved in water or mixed with soft foods,
e.g, applesauce, prior to administration.

Measuring device must be provided to ensure accurate

measurement such as the teaspoon, cup, or insufflator

Useful for non-potent bulky drugs with large dose

Example : antacids, dietary supplements, laxatives, and a

few analgesics

Effervescent Powders
Definition: Mixture of organic acid and alkali
effervesces when subjected to water due to reaction
between the acid and the base with evolution of co2
Examples: Citric or tartaric acids with sodium
carbonate or bicarbonate
Uses: The liberated carbon dioxide has the
following advantages:
It masks the bitter and nauseous taste.
It promotes gastric secretions.
It acts as a carminative.

psychological impression at the patient..

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Granules

Granules are particles ranging in size from

about 4 to 10 mesh

Granule are larger than powders and are

formed by adding very small amounts of liquid
to powders, then the mixtures is passed through
a screen or a special granulator and then dried
in air or in an oven.

Irregular shape, have an excellent flow

characteristic, more stable than powder, its
better suited than powder for use in solutions
because they are not as likely simply to float on
the surface of liquid.

Example : granule for antibiotic suspension

Effervescent granules
* Contain sodium bicarbonate and either citric acid,
tartaric acid or sodium biphosphate in addition to the
active ingredients.
* On solution in water, carbon dioxide is released as a
result of the acid-base reaction. The effervescence
from the release of the carbon dioxide serves to mask
the taste of salty or bitter medications.
* The completed product must be dispensed in tightly
closed glass containers to protect it against the
humidity of the air.

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BULK POWDER EXTERNAL

1)

Dusting powder :

2)

Insufflations :

INSUFFLATOR

1. Dusting Powders
It is a very fine, light powder for external used as
an insecticide, medicine, toiletry, etc.
Requirements:
1- Homogenous and very fine
2- Free from irritation.
3- Flow easily.
4- Have good covering capacity.
5- Have good adsorptive and absorptive capacity.
6- Spread uniformly over body surface.
7- Cling (adhere) to skin surface after application.
8- Protect the skin from irritation caused by friction,
moisture and chemical irritants.
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Dusting Powders
Application:
1- Medicated

dusting powders may be applied either to

intact skin or to open wound and mucous
membranes.
2- powders applied to open wound must be sterilized
3- Particle size should be very small. It is better to be
micronized or those passes through # 100 sieve.
4- Highly sorptive powders should not be used on areas
exude large quantities of fluids to avoid hard crust
formation.
Function:
Lubricants- protective- adsorbents- antiseptic - astringentsantiperspirants
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Dusting Powders

Packaging:
Dispensed in sifter- top cans or pressurized packs
(aerosols).
Aerosols protect the powder from air, moisture and
contamination and more convenient for application.

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DIVIDED POWDER

Oral divided powder may contain one or

more active ingredients together with an
inert diluent to produce a minimum
quantity of 120 mg.
Prepackaged individual doses
A more accurate dosage form than bulk
powder
generally are dispensed in papers, properly
folded (chartulae).
Divided powders are commercially available
in foil, cellophane or paper packs

COMPOSITION OF POWDER
POWDER

BASES/DILUENT

INTERNAL

Lactose,
Light kaolin

ACTIVE
INGREDIENT

EXTERNAL
Bentonite, Kaolin, Kieselguhr,
magnesium carbonate,
starch, and talc

Example of undivided oral powder:

Prepare 100 gram Compound magnesium Trisilicate Oral

Powder BP 1988.
ingredients
amount
Rx magnesium trisilicate
250 g
chalk, in powder
250 g
sodium bicarbonate
250 g
heavy magnesium carbonate
250 g
Action and Use: Adsorbent and antacid for treatment of
dyspepsia.
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Example of divided oral powder:

Prepare Oral Rehydrated Salts BP 1988

Ingredient
Rx Sodium chloride
Potassium chloride
Sodium bicarbonate
Anhydrous glucose

amount to prepare 1 litre solution

1.0 g
1.5 g
1.5 g
36.4 g

Action and use: Rehydration and electrolyte replacement in

treatment of diarrhea.

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PREPARATION

COMMUNITION
OF DRUGS

SIEVING

WEIGHING

MIXING

PACKAGING

REDUCING THE PARTICLE SIZE

In the compounding, there are three methods
of comminution:
1.

Trituration
The continuous rubbing or grinding of the
powder in a mortar with a pestle.
This method is applied to hard, fracturable
powders.

REDUCING THE PARTICLE SIZE

2- Pulverization by Intervention
Substance are reduced& subdivided with an additional
material ( i.e solvent) that can be removed easily
after pulverization is complete.
* This technique is applied to
Substances which are gummy and tend to
reagglomerate or which resist grinding (hard
crystalline powder .
Example :
As camphor which is hard crystaline powder, so
addition of alcohol or other volatile solvent can be
reduced readily to a fine powder.
iodine crystals may be comminuted with the aid of
ether.
In both instances the solvent is permitted to
evaporate and the powdered material is recovered

REDUCING THE PARTICLE SIZE

3. Levigation
In this process
A- paste is first formed by the addition of
a suitable non solvent (example :
mineral oil or glycerin) to the solid
material.
B-Particle-size reduction then
accomplished by rubbing the paste in
a mortar with a pestle or on an
ointment slab using a spatula.

Methods of Powder Mixing

1- Mechanical Mixing
2- Hand Mixing:
Trituration (mortar + pestle)
Spatulation (spatula + tile)
Sieving
Tumbling (wide mouth closed container)
.

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Mixing of Powder

1- Trituration (Mortar and pestle)

* The pharmacist most generally employs the mortar and pestle for
the small-scale mixing
* The mortar and pestle method is a single operation. Thus, it is
particularly useful where some degree of particle-size reduction

as well as mixing is required as in the case of mixtures of

crystalline material.
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Trituration

Used a process called Geometric Dilution to

ensure the uniform distribution of the potent drug.

Procedure of Geometric Dilution

1)

2)

3)

The potent drug is placed with an approximately

equal volume of the diluent in the mortar and its
mix thoroughly by trituration.
Then, a second portion of diluent equal in
volume to the mixture is added and the
trituration is repeated
This process is continued and repeating until all
of diluent is incorporated.

Mortars are prepared usually from

Wedgwood ware, porcelain or glass.

A- Glass mortars:
* Are designed primarily for use in
preparing solutions and suspensions
of chemical materials in a liquid. Also
are suitable for Preparing ointments
* Glass has advantage of being
comparatively nonporous and of not
staining easily and thus is particularly
useful when-substances such as
flavoring oils or highly colored
substances are used. Glass cannot be
used for comminuting hard solids.
26

B- Wedgwood mortars
Are suited for comminution of crystalline solids.
* Wedgwood is relatively porous and will stain quite easily. A
Wedgwood mortar is available with a roughened interior
which aids in the comminution process but requires care in
washing since particles of the drugs may be trapped in the
rough surface and cause contamination.

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C- Porcelain mortars
are very similar to Wedgwood, except
that the exterior surface of the
former is usually glazed and thus
less porous.

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Pestles
* Are made of the same material as the mortar.

* Pestles made entirely of porcelain are objectionable, because

they are broken easily. Pestles and mortars should not be
interchanged.
* The efficiency of the grinding or mixing operation depends
largely on a maximum contact between the surfaces of the
head of the pestle and the interior of the mortar

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2- Spatulation
The blending of powders with a spatula on a tile or
paper used sometimes for small quantities or when
the mortar and pestle technique is undesirable.
It is not suitable for large quantities of powders or for
powders containing one or more potent substance
because homogenous blending maynot occur.

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3- Sieving
Sieving usually is employed as a pre-or postmixing method to reduce loosely held
agglomerates and to increase the overall
effectiveness of blending process.

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4. Tumbling
Mixing a powder by spinning it in a
rotating machine

Problems encountered in powder

formulation
1- Hygroscopic and Deliquescent Powder
Problem: Absorption of moisture from air leading to
partial or complete liquefaction.
Solution:
a) Applied in a granular form to decrease the exposed
surface to air.
b) Packed in aluminum foil or in plastic film packets
c) Addition of light magnesium oxide to reduce the
tendency to damp
d) Addition of adsorbent materials such as starch
Examples: - halide salts (ex. Sod. Iodide)
- Certain alkaloids (physostigmine Hcl)

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Problems encountered in powder

formulation
2- Efflorescent powders
Problem: Crystalline substances which
during storage loose their water of
crystallization and change to powder (to be
efflorescent). The liberated water convert
the powder to a paste or to a liquid.
Examples: Alum- atropine sulfate- citric acidcodeine phosphate
Solution: Using the anhydrous form, and
treating it in a manner similar to
hygroscopic powders

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Problems encountered in powder

formulation
3- Eutectic Mixtures
Problem: mixture of substances that liquefy when
mixed, rubbed or triturated together. The melting
points of many eutectic mixtures are below room
temperature.
Examples: menthol- thymol- phenol- salolcamphor.
Solution:
a) using inert adsorbent such as starch, talc, lactose to
prevent dampness of the powder
b) dispensing the components of the eutectic mixture
separately.
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Problems encountered in powder

formulation
4- Incorporation of Liquids
Solution:
A- The liquid is triturated with an equal weight
of the powder and the remaining powder is
added in several portions with trituration.
B- Adsorbent is incorporated, usually light
kaolin.

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Problems encountered in powder

formulation
5- Incorporation of Extracts
Problem: Some plant extracts are available as powders or
as semisolid (e.g., liquid extract of liquorice) .
Solution:
A- The powdered extracts have no problems and treated
generally as powders
B- Semisolid extract should be mixed with an equal quantity
of lactose and reduced to a dry powder by evaporation
before incorporation with other ingredients
C- Careful heating, if present, to save potency of the
extract.

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Problems encountered in powder

formulation
6- Potent Drug
Problem: Limited precision and accuracy of the used
balances to weight small amounts of potent drugs.
Solution: Drug triturates:
A- Suitable diluents like lactose are mixed with the
potent drug to form 10 - 20%w/w drug triturates.
B- Very fine powders should be used in the triturates
C- Geometric dilution to prepare drug triturates

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 Example:
Send 3 powders each containing 8 mg propranolol hydrochloride
for a child weighing 8 kg
one powder

Propranolol hydrochloride
Lactose
Total

8 mg
112 mg
120 mg

four powders

32 mg
448 mg
480 mg

Trituration:
propranolol hydrochloride
100 mg
lactose
400
So, each 100 mg of triturate contains 20 mg drug and therefore
160 mg of triturate will contain 32 mg
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Problems encountered in powder

formulation
7- Incompatible salts
Problem: Chemically incompatible salts when triturated together
produce discoloration, chemical deterioration or loss of potency.

Solution:
A- Compounding such substances with minimum pressure
B- Use a convenient method for mixing the powder like tumbling
in a jar or spatulation on a sheet of paper.
C- Each substance should be powdered separately in a clean
mortar and then combined with other ingredients gently.
D- Powder and dispense separately.

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Problems encountered in powder

formulation
8- Explosive mixtures
Problem: Oxidizing agents(ex. Pot. Salts of chlorate,
dichromate, permanganate and nitrate- Sod.
Peroxide- silver nitrate and silver oxide) explore
violently when triturated in a mortar with a reducing
agent ( ex. sulfides- sulfur- tannic acid- charcoal).
Solution:
A- Comminute each salt separately.
B- Subject to a minimum pressure.

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