Pharmaceutics is the branch of pharmacy which deals with the conversion of drug molecules into dosage form so that we can use drugs safely and effectively. In simple words, the science of dosage forms is known as Pharmaceutics.
What is Pharmaceutics?
As we discussed earlier pharmaceutics is the science of dosage forms we can define pharmaceutics in another way to explain it in a broader way
"Pharmaceutics is the branch of pharmacy which deals with the formulation of dosage form, manufacturing of dosage form, testing of dosage forms and finally the packaging of dosage forms."
Manufacturing of medicines in pharmaceutical industries are under the scope of pharmaceutics.
What is Formulation Of Dosage Forms
Formulation of dosage form means the process of converting a drug into a stable form by using other ingredients along with Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients for example tablet, capsules.The ingredients used in a dosage form other than active pharmaceutical ingredients are known as excipients.
Manufacturing Of Dosage Form
Manufacturing of a dosage form is the process used for the preparation of different dosage forms in pharmaceutical Industries. Manufacturing involves different steps by using different equipment.
Checking Of Dosage Forms
Checking of the dosage form is also known as quality control of the dosage form means in this stage, the dosage form is tested for its required results after manufacturing.
For this purpose a quality control department is established which evaluates the quality of drug products.
Packaging Of Dosage Form
In this step,dosage forms are packed in suitable packaging like tablets and capsules in blisters and syrups in glass bottles.
Explanation
Today a countless number of drug molecules are available but we can not use these drug molecules in pure form or as it is. For example, if we take the example of Metformin Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient which is used to treat diabetic conditions then this Metformin can not be taken as it to give its effect.
We have to add some other ingredients with Metformin to make it stable to deliver it safely to its site of action.
The ingredients used along with API to form a proper dosage form are known as excipients.
Excipients are inert materials that have no pharmacological effect but are required to form a dosage form with desired attributes.
Examples of different excipients used for tablet manufacturing are as as follows,
Diluents
Disintegrants
Binders
Colourants
Glidants
Lubricants
What Is Dosage Form?
The dosage form is the finalized form of a drug product containing a combination of API and excipients in a suitable shape is known as the dosage form.
Examples Of Dosage Forms
Following are some examples of commonly used dosage form
Tablets
Capsules
Syrup
Suspension
Creams
Ointments
Injections
Suppositories
and many more.
Why We Require Dosage Form / Importance Of Dosage Form
We convert drug molecules into dosage forms because of the following,
To protect the active pharmaceutical ingredient from environmental degradation.
To enhance the stability of the API.
To protect the drugs from the first pass effect.
To enhance drug stability.
To provide delayed release of API.
To achieve required bioavailability.
To mask the bitter taste.
To enhance solubility.
Branches Of Pharmaceutics
Following are branches of pharmaceutics
Pharmaceutical Formulation
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
Dispensing pharmacy
Pharmaceutical technology
Physical pharmacy
Pharmaceutical jurisprudence
Pharmaceutical Formulation
Pharmaceutical Formulation is the branch of pharmaceutics that deals with the establishment of the formulation of a drug product.
The formulation is a broader term and it includes all the stages which are performed to formulate a stable dosage form.
Formulation design is a very important and critical step because it is done on a lab-scale and later on commercial batches are manufactured based on data of the lab-scale batch.
In the formulation stage first, we conduct preformulation studies in which all the data of API and excipients is collected and studied. The physical and chemical properties of the drug are observed and we also collect details regarding particle size, pH, polymorphism and solubility. Other factors which may affect the bioavailability of drugs are also considered.
After analysing all the data we manufacture a dosage form according to the set formulation and then stability and incompatibility data of that specific dosage form is collected and if all requirements are met then this formulation is considered good.
Example
For example, if we want to formulate a tablet dosage of an API then this tablet formulation should be designed in such a way that it complies with all the required test results like assay, content uniformity, dissolution profile, disintegration time and hardness etc.To give proper characteristics we use excipients in dosage forms.
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
Pharmaceutical manufacturing is the branch of pharmaceutics that deals with the production of dosage forms on a large scale in pharmaceutical industries.
On an industrial scale, the manufacturing may be carried out in different steps like if we want to manufacture tablets it may consist of granulation, compression, coating and then blistering and packaging.Granulation process is further comprising following steps
weighing
Sieving
Kneading
Wet Sieving
Drying
Screening
Final Blending
above mentioned are steps of wet granulation.
Dispensing Pharmacy
Dispensing pharmacy is the branch of pharmacy which deals with dispensing of drugs according to the prescriptions.
Some drugs have to be prepared in the pharmacy compounding area and then are given to the patients after proper labelling and packaging.
Pharmaceutical technology
It is the branch of pharmaceutics which deals with the study of the use of technology in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Physical Pharmacy
Physical pharmacy is the branch of pharmacy that deals with the application of physics and chemistry to the study of pharmacy.
Physical pharmacy is also defined as,
The branch of pharmaceutics which deals with different effects which dosage forms exert on its environment is known as Physical Pharmacy.
Physical pharmacy provides principles that help pharmaceutical developments.
Pharmaceutical jurisprudence
It is the branch of pharmaceutics that is related to the rules, regulations and guidelines of pharmacy, pharmacy practice and pharmaceuticals.
Pharmaceutical Jurisprudence is a combination of different laws which are applied to pharmaceuticals.
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