PHARMACEUTICAL EXCIPIENTS

Ø  Excipients are those substances which are added to the formulation other than pharmacological active drug

Ø  Excipients have slight or no action and added to formulation to get the desire properties.

Ø  According to IPEC “Excipients are those product having slight or no action and intended to added in formulation to make formulation more effective.

Ideal Properties of Excipients:

Ø  Cost effective.

Ø  Pharmacologically inert.

Ø  Stable for handling.

Ø  Feasible.

Ø  No interaction with drug.

Functions of Excipients:

Ø  Excipients have different kinds of properties depending on its properties different concentrations are used to get desired use and all this depend upon physicochemical properties of excipients.

Ø  Same excipients can be use for different purpose at different concentrations.

Ø  Use of excipients defines.

Dosage form.

Drug released.

Stability.

Acceptability.

Properties of some important excipients

EXCIPIENTS	FUNCTIONAL CATEGORY	PROPERTIES
STARCH	BINDER	DENSITY- 0.45-0.55 g/cm3
	LUBRICANT	pH RANGE - 4.0-8
	DISINTEGRANTS	SOLUBILITY IN ETHANOL 95%
		SWELLING TEMPERATURE - 64C
GELATINS	COATING AGENTS	DENSITY-1.32 g/cm3
	BINDERS	pH RANGE - 3.8 - 8.0
	THICKENING AGENTS	SOLUBILITY IN GLYCETIN
	VISCOSITY	SWELLING TEMPERATURE -68C
	MODIFIERS
HPMC	BINDER	DENSITY - 0.5 g/cm3
	COATING AGENT	pH RANGE - 3.0 - 6.0
	THICKENING AGENTS	SOLUBILITY IN ACETONE
LACTOSE	DILUENTS	DENSITY - 1.589 g/cm3
	SWEETENING AGENTS	BRITTLE FRACTURE INDEX - 0658
		SOLUBLE IN WATER

References:

Pharmaceuticeutical dosage form : Tablets Volume1 by Herbert liberman and Leon Lachman

Pharmaceutical dosage form of drug delivary by Ansel

Textbook of cosmetic and herbal technilogy by Shobha Rani Hiremath

 Modern pharmceutics by Gilbert and Banker

Handbook of pharmaceutical Excipients by Ramond C Row , Paul J sheskey , Marian E Quin