Influence of capsule shell composition on the performance indicators of hypromellose capsule in comparison to hard gelatin capsules

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the in vitro performances of "vegetable" capsules in comparison to hard gelatin capsules in terms of shell weight variation, reaction to different humidity conditions, resistance to stress in the absence of moisture, powder leakage, disintegration and dissolution. Two types of capsules made of HPMC produced with (Capsule 2) or without (Capsule 3) a gelling agent and hard gelatin capsules (Capsule 1) were assessed. Shell weight variability was relatively low for all tested capsules shells. Although Capsule 1 had the highest moisture content under different humidity conditions, all capsule types were unable to protect the encapsulated hygroscopic polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) powder from surrounding humidity. The initial disintegration for all Capsule 1 occurred within 3 min, but for other types of capsules within 6 min (n = 18). Dissolution of acetaminophen was better when the deionized water (DIW) temperature increased from 32 to 42 °C in case of Capsule 1, but the effect of temperature was not significant for the other types of capsules. Acetaminphen dissolution from Capsule 1 was the fastest (i.e. >90% in 10 min) and independent of the media pH or contents unlike Capsule 2 which was influenced by the pH and dissolution medium contents. It is feasible to use hypromellose capsules shells with or without gelling agent for new lines of pharmaceutical products, however, there is a window for capsule shells manufacturing companies to improve the dissolution of their hypromellose capsules to match the conventional gelatin capsule shells and eventually replace them.

Evaluation of Certain Pharmaceutical Quality Attributes of Lisinopril Split Tablets

“…The initial disintegration times correlate to the complete disintegration times and agree with the initial and final disintegration times observed in another study of capsules [26,27]. Because the BP requires that uncoated tablets should disintegrate within 15 min and film-coated capsules within 30 min, and USP specifies that uncoated and film-coated tablets should disintegrate within 30 min, both whole and hand-split tablets meet the pharmacopoeia requirements of the BP, USP and European Pharmacopoeia (EP) [19,20,28].…”

Evaluation of the Physico-mechanical Properties and Electrostatic Charging Behavior of Different Capsule Types for Inhalation Under Distinct Environmental Conditions

“…Once withdrawn from the solution, the pins are air-dried and after the completion of the film-forming process, the capsule shells are stripped from the pins using soft metal jars (16). HPMC capsules were later developed as an alternative to gelatin ones and they present certain advantages such as not being derived from animal sources, being more chemically inert, and retaining/ adsorbing water to a lesser extent (1,28,39). HPMC capsules can be produced either by employing gelling agents or by using a thermal-gelling process.…”

Celery (Apium graviolens L.) Herba Extract Capsule Formulation as Anti-Ulcer

“…Traditional medicine derived from plant extracts is generally in demand by the public in tablet or capsule dosage forms. Plant extracts that tend to have unpleasant tastes and odors can be overcome by formulating them in capsule dosage form (Al Tabakha, et al, 2015;Gulapalli & Mazetalli, 2017;Qusaj, et al, 2012;Patet & Amin, 2013;Lau, 2018;El, et al, 2012). But the problem is the consistency of the thick extract will affect the stability of the capsule preparation.…”