The coating of capsules
The coating of hard and soft gelatine capsules is becoming increasingly important for various reasons.
Examples include: the administration of new active ingredients, the administration of drugs in the large intestine, oral vaccination and use in (pre-)clinical studies. The biggest advantage is the independence of the coating formulation from the filling of the capsule.
BIOGRUND offers various coating systems for capsule coating. For pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and other industries. The coating systems are individually formulated & customised and adapted to your needs. Whether organic, vegan, enteric coated, without TiO2, coloured or clear.
Different types of capsules can be coated with different functional film coatings.
The enteric-coated hard capsule was coated with AquaPolish® E (methacrylate-based) and CompactCel® FLO was used as a filling aid.
Soft gelatine capsules coated with BonuLac®, based on natural shellac, an aqueous film coating system that has excellent moisture-repellent and enteric properties.
Soft gelatine capsules coated with BonuWax®, an anti-sticking coating that prevents the capsules from sticking together.
Soft gelatine capsules coated with AquaPolish® E (alginate-based), a ready-to-use film coating with enteric protection.
Gastro-resistant coating of capsules
What are these capsules?
- Gastro-resistant capsules are capsules that have an acid-resistant coating that prevents them from dissolving when they pass through the stomach. The capsules are not activated until they pass through an alkaline environment, i.e. a pH of 5.5 or more, which is normally the case when they reach the small intestine.
- The coating can be formulated with the appropriate polymers (acrylic acid copolymer, HPMC AS or sodium alginate), colouring additives and additional excipients.
Advantages
- Gastro-resistant capsules do not dissolve in the mouth and are therefore ideal for formulations that do not need to be activated by acid. The coating prevents the capsule from dissolving in the mouth and oesophagus.
- Many medicines can irritate the stomach when they are released there; with enteric-coated capsules, the formulation passes through the stomach without irritating the gastric mucosa.
- The enteric coating also prevents the enzymes in the capsule from dissolving in the acidic environment of the stomach.
- These enteric-coated capsules typically take one to two hours to dissolve, making them ideal for time-sensitive medications.
Most pharmaceutical capsules are made of gelatine or a vegetarian gelatine equivalent (usually a form of cellulose). These materials dissolve in the low pH gastric juices. However, some drugs are not effective when released in the stomach and must pass into the intestine where they can be absorbed at a higher pH. Gastro-resistant capsules are designed to pass through the stomach unaffected and dissolve in the intestinal tract.
TiO2-free film-coated capsules
The trend towards “clean” labels continues to prevail. Organic, vegan, TiO2-free, iron oxide-free, talc-free, etc. Individual formulations according to customer-specific requirements are no problem for us.
BIOGRUND offers solutions for TiO2-free film coatings. Instead of a coloured hard capsule, for example, a clear hard capsule can be used and coated with a coloured TiO2-free coating.
Here you can see clear hard capsules that have been coated with a TiO2-free coating:
Here is our hard capsule sample box to which our ready-to-use coating system AquaPolish® natural coloured has been applied.
- The colours/pigments were made from fruits, vegetables & edible plants.
- Free from titanium dioxide and iron oxides.
Easy filling of hard capsules with CompactCel®
Easy filling of capsules with the CompactCel® family.
Not only is the coating of hard gelatine capsules (HGKs) easy, but also the filling. Especially for active ingredients and powder mixtures that tend to clump, the flow and slip properties of the filler (bulk material or powder mixture) can be optimised with the help of an additional additive. The premix CompactCel® MAB absorbs moisture well in bulk materials, so that a clean powder flow can take place during capsule filling.
If the powder mixture is then filled into hard gelatine capsules, an exact dosage of the ingredients or nutrients can be achieved. CompactCel® FLO, on the other hand, ensures a stable and even powder flow during the capsule filling process by reducing friction between the particles.
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