CAPSULES

4.1 INTRODUCTION
Capsules are solid dosage forms in which the drug substance is enclosed within either a
hard or soft soluble shell. Generally the shells are formed from gelatin. The capsule may be
regarded as “container” drug delivery system, which provides a tasteless/odorless dosage
form without the need of a secondary coating step, as may be required for tablets.
Types of Capsules:
Generally capsules are of two types:
1. Hard gelatin capsules, and
2. Soft gelatin capsules.
4.2 HARD GELATIN CAPSULES
Hard gelatin capsule consists of two parts namely ‘cap’ and ‘body’. The diameter of cap is
slightly larger than body. But the length of cap is smaller than body. The drug is filled in body
and is inserted into cap to give final form capsule.
Advantages of Hard Gelatin Capsules:
• They are more elegant in appearance.
• They are easy to transport.
• They are tasteless and odourless shells.
• They are suitable for drugs possessing unpleasant taste and odour.
• Provide ready bioavailability of drug because of minimal excipients and little pressure
applied during manufacturing.
• Provide enteric effect.
• They are uniquely suitable for blinded clinical trials and are widely used in preliminary
drug studies.
Disadvantages of Hard Gelatin Capsules:
• They are not suitable for extremely soluble materials, such as potassium chloride,
potassium bromide and ammonium chloride, because sudden release of these drugs
may irritate the gastric mucosa.
• They are not suitable for efflourescent materials because they absorb moisture and
cause softening of capsules.
(4.1)
 • They are not suitable for aqueous or hydroalcoholic solutions.
• Fillling process is laborious and time consuming. Therefore production rate is slower
than tableting.
4.2.1 Formulation of Gelatin Shell
Gelatin shell contains:
1. Gelatin (main ingredient),
2. Plasticizers,
3. Opacifying agents,
4. Colouring agents,
5. Flavouring agents,
6. Sweetening agents,
7. Preservatives,
8. Water, and
9. Acids.
1. Gelatin: Gelatin is a heterogenous product derived by irreversible hydrolytic extraction of
treated animal collagen.
Properties of gelatin depend on:
• Parent collagen,
• Method of extraction,
• pH value,
• Thermal degradation,
• Electrolyte content.
Sources of Gelatin:
(i) Animal bones,
(ii) Frozen pork skin,
(iii) Hide portion.
Types of Gelatin:
(i) Type A: It is derived from acid treated precursor. This type of gelatin possesses an
isoelectric point in region of pH 9.0.
(ii) Type B: it is derived from an alkali treated precursor of bones. This type of gelatin
possesses an isoelectric point in the region of pH 4.7.
The film of capsules made from bone gelatin is tough and firm. But film tends to be hazy
and brittle. Capsules made from pork skin gelatin possess plasticity and clarity, these are
responsible for reducing hazy or cloudness. In practice, both the types of gelatine are
used in combination to give all the desired properties to capsules.
2. Plasticizers: It increases the plasticity of the film. E.g. glycerine, sorbitol, propylene glycol.
3. Colouring Agents: These are used to impart colour to body and cap. E.g. water soluble
dyes, certified lakes and vegetable colours. They are used either alone or in combination.
4 Opacifying agents: These are used to give opacity to the gelatin film. E.g. Titanium
dioxide.
5. Flavouring agents: These are used in a concentration not more than 2%. E.g. ethyl
vanillin, essential oils.
6. Sweetining agents: E.g. Sugar not more than 5%.
7. Preservatives: E.g. methyl paraben, potassium bisulphite.
4.2.2 Formulation of Capsule Content
Capsules mostly contain active ingredients, however the following ingredients are also
used in manufacturing of capsules:
1. Glidants: e.g. talc, magnesium stearate, colloidal silica.
2. Fillers (diluents): e.g. lactose, starch, dicalcium phosphate.
3. Disintegrants: e.g. crosspovidone, crosscarmalose sodium.
4. Surfactants: e.g. sodium lauryl sulphate, sodium socusta.
5. Hydrophilic agents: e.g. methyl cellulose, hydroxyl ethyl cellulose.
4.2.3 Manufacturing of Hard Gelatin Capsule Shell
1. Dipping: Pairs of stainless steel pins are dipped into the dipping solution to
simultaneously form the caps and bodies. The pins are lubricated with a proprietary
mold-release agent. The pins are at ambient temperature.(about 228 oC), whereas the
dipping solution is maintained at a temperature of about 508oC in a heated, jacketed
dipping pan. The length of time to cast the film has been reported to be about
12 seconds, with larger capsules requiring longer dipping times.
2. Rotation: After dipping, the pins are withdrawn from the dipping solution, and as they
are done so, they are elevated and rotated two and a half times until they are facing
upward. This rotation helps to distribute the gelatin over the pins uniformly and to avoid
the formation of a bead at the capsule ends. After rotation, they are given a blast of cool
air to set the film.
3. Drying: The racks of gelatin-coated pins then pass into a series of four drying ovens.
Drying is done mainly by dehumidification by passing large volumes of dry air over the
pins. Only a temperature elevation of a few degrees is permissible to prevent film
melting. Drying must not be so rapid as to cause “case hardening” of the outer surface of
the forming shells that would impede further moisture removal. Overdrying must be
avoided as this could cause films to split on the pins due to shrinkage or at least make
them too brittle for the later trimming operation. Under drying will leave the films too
pliable or sticky for subsequent operations.
4. Stripping: A series of bronze jaws (softer than stainless steel) strip the cap and body
portions of the capsules from the pins.
5. Trimming: The stripped cap and body portions are delivered to collets in which they are
firmly held. As the collets rotate, knives are brought against the shells to trim them to the
required length.
6. Joining: The cap and body portions are aligned concentrically in channels, and the two
portions are slowly pushed together. The entire cycle takes about 45 minutes, however,
about two-third of this time is required for the drying step alone.
7. Sorting: During sorting, the capsules passing on a lighted moving conveyor are
examined visually by inspectors. Any defective capsules spotted are thus manually
removed. Defects are generally classified according to their nature and potential to cause
 problems in usage. The most serious of these defects are the ones that could cause
stoppage of a filling machine such as imperfect cuts, dented capsules, or those with
holes. Other defects may cause problems on usage, such as capsules with splits, long
bodies, or grease inside. Many less important, cosmetic faults, which only detract from
appearance, also may occur (small bubbles, specks in the film, marks on the cut edge,
etc.).
8. Printing: In general, capsules are printed prior to filling. Empty capsules can be handled
faster than filled capsules, and should there be any loss or damage to the capsules
during printing, no active ingredients would be involved. Generally, printing is done on
offset rotary presses having throughput capabilities as high as three or four million
capsules per hour. Available equipment can print either axially along the length of
capsules or radially around the circumference of capsules.
4.2.4 Sizes and Shapes of Hard Gelatin Capsule Shell
For human use, empty gelatin capsules are manufactured in eight sizes, ranging from
000 (the largest) to 5 (the smallest). The volumes and approximate capacities for the
traditional eight sizes are listed below.
Size Volume (ml) Calculated fill weight (g) at
powder density of 0.8 g/cm 3
000 1.37 1.096
00 0.95 0.760
0 0.68 0.544
1 0.50 0.400
2 0.37 0.296
3 0.30 0.240
4 0.21 0.168
5 0.13 0.104
Although the standard shape of capsules is the traditional, symmetrical, cylindrical shape,
some manufacturers have employed distinctive proprietary shapes. Lilly’s Pulvule-1 is
designed with a characteristic body section that tapers to a bluntly pointed end. Glaxo Smith
Kline’s Spansule1 capsules exhibit a characteristic taper at both the cap and body ends.
4.2.5 Filling of Hard Gelatin Capsules
Rectification: The empty capsules are oriented so that all point to the same direction,
that is, body end downward. In general, the capsules pass one at a time through a channel
just wide enough to provide a frictional grip at the cap end. A specially designed blade
pushes against the capsule and causes it to rotate about its cap end as a fulcrum. After two
pushes (one horizontally and one vertically downward), the capsules will always be aligned
body end downward, regardless of which end entered the channel first.
Separation of caps from bodies: This process also depends on the difference in
diameters between cap and body portions. Here, the rectified capsules are delivered body
end first into the upper portion of split bushings or split-filling rings. A vacuum applied from
below pulls the bodies down into the lower portion of the split bushing. The diameter of the
caps is too large to allow them to follow the bodies into the lower bushing portion. The split
bushings are then separated to expose the bodies for filling.
Dosing of fill material: Various methods are employed, which are described below.
Filling (dosing of material) can be done by:
1. Auger fill principle (Gravitational forces)
2. Vibratory fill principle (Overfill/Scrape-off excess)
3. Piston tamp principle (Pressured measured): Again there are two types of fillers:
(a) Dosator machine, and
(b) Dosing disc machine.
Top view

1
Scrapper Powder hopper

Disc cavity
2

Baffles

Dosing disc
5 3

Capacitance probe
4
(a) View looking down on the dosing

Piston holder
Overload spring
Tamp
adjustment Strain gauges
screw
Brass plate
Container cover

Piston
1 2 3 4 5
Powder
Powder container
scraper
Dosing disc

Capsule body
Sealing plate
Slug
Bushing

(b) Side view (projected) showing progressive plug formation

Note the placement of strain gauges on the piston to measure tamping and plug ejection forces
Fig. 4.1: Dosing-disc filling principle
 Piston

Ejection

Slug

Powder
bed
Precompression Compression

Fig. 4.2: Dosator-filling principle

Replacement of caps and ejection of filled capsules: The cap and body bushing
portions are rejoined. Pins are used to push the filled bodies up into the caps for closure, and
to push the closed capsules out of the bushings. Compressed air also may be used to eject
the capsules.
4.2.6 Sealing and Locking of Capsules
1. Bodies are moistened with brush and painted with acacia mucilage.
2. Caps are placed on wet paper before fixing
3. Hard-gelatin capsules are made self-locking by forming indentations or grooves on
the inside of the cap and body portions. Thus when they are fully engaged, a positive
interlock is created between the cap and body portions.
Examples include Posilok1 (Qualicaps, Inc., Whitsett, North Carolina, U.S.) and Coni-Snap1
(Capsugel, Div. Pfizer Inc., Greenwood, South Carolina, U.S.). The rim of the body portion of
Coni-Snap capsules is tapered to help guide the cap onto the body. In high-speed automatic
capsule filling machines, this feature can reduce or eliminate snagging or splitting of
capsules. Both brands of locking capsules are preclosed by a prelock feature based on
indentations formed further down on the cap that keeps the caps and body pieces of the
empty capsules together during shipping and handling, but allows their easy separation for
capsule filling. The Coni-Snap principle with prelock feature is illustrated in Fig. 4.3.

3
2
1
3

Closed
Pre-closed

Open
1. The tapered rim prevents faulty joins
2. These indentations prevent the pre-closed capsule from opening too early.
3. These grooves lock the two halves together after filling (SNAP-FIT TM principle)
Fig. 4.3
4.2.7 Finishing of Capsules
1. Pan Polishing: The accelacota tablet coating pan is issued to dust and polish capsules.
A polyurethane or cheese cloth liner is placed in the pan and the liner is used to trap the
removed dust as well as to impart a glossy texture to the capsules.
2. Cloth Dusting: In this method the filled capsules are rubbed with a cloth that may or
may not be impregnated with inert oil. This method is hand operation and improves
glossy to the capsules.
3. Brushing: In to the automatic polishing equipment capsules are fed under rotating soft
brushes. Brushes remove dust from the surface of the capsule. This equipment is also
connected to vaccum which removes the dust immediately. During operation scrates may
develop on the capsules or sometimes deformation takes place.
4.2.8 Rotosert
It is a mechanical sorting machine that removes unfilled powder or unfilled bodies or
loose caps. Rotofil is a capsule filling machine that is specifically designed to fill pellets.
4.2.9 Storage and Stability
Finished hard-gelatin capsules normally contain an equilibrium moisture content of
13% to 16%. This moisture acts as a plasticizer and thus is critical to the physical properties of
the shells. At lower moisture contents (< 12%), shells become too brittle; at higher moisture
contents (> 18%), they become too soft. It is best to avoid extremes of temperature and to
maintain a relative humidity of 40% to 60% when handling and storing capsules.
4.2.10 Manufacturing Defects
During the manufacturing of hard gelatin capsules which involves several steps like:
Dipping of stainless steel, trimming, stripping, joining of cap and body of capsule. So, during
several operations few defects are formed at this stage only like:
Major defects:
1. Capsules are not specified type i.e hard shell formation.
2. It may have cracks, breaks, pinholes or splits, losing its integrity.
3. Color variation, and non uniformity of appearance.
4. Surface spots and embedded particles on capsules.
5. Body and cap are not uniform and does not fit properly.
Minor defects:
1. Capsules surface are not smooth.
2. Opacity not proper.
3. There are pits, dents, thin area, specks, spots, or blemishes.
4. Capsules not free of adhering surface spots.
4.2.11 Quality Control Test
Disintegration Test: According to B.P., which applies to both hard and soft capsules:
• Introduce one capsule in each tube and suspend the apparatus in a beaker
containing 60 ml water at 37 C.
• If hard capsules float on surface of water, then disc may be added.
• Operate the apparatus for 30 minutes. Remove the assembly from the liquid.
• The capsules pass the test, if no residue remains on the screen of apparatus.
 Weight variation:
• Weigh 20 capsules individually and determine average weight.
• The individual wt should be within limit of 90-110% of average weight.
• If not all of capsule fall within the limit, weigh, weigh 20 capsule individually again.
• Remove the net content of each capsule with the aid of small brush.
• Weight the empty shell individually.
Net weight of contents individually = Weight of shell − Gross weight.
• Determine the average net content from the sum of individual net weight.
• Then determine the differences between each individual net content and average net
content.
Limits: Not more than 2 of the differences are greater than 10% of the average net
content.
Content Uniformity:
• 10 capsules are taken and subjected to assay.
• 9 of 10 capsules should be in the range of 15% (85 - 115%).
• 10th capsule is beyond  15% range, the 20 capsules are assayed.
• All capsules within range of  25% (75 - 125%).
4.2.12 Moisture Permeation Test
• The degree and rate of moisture penetration is determined by packaging the dosage
unit together with a color is revealing desiccant pellet.
• Expose the packed unit to known relative humidity over a specified time.
• Observe the desiccant pellet for colour change.
• Any change in colour indicates absorption of moisture.
• By measuring pre-test weight and protest weight of pellet, amount can be calculated.
4.2.13 Bloom Strength of Gelatin
• Gelatin is weighed into water to typically create a 6.67% solution in standard bloom
bottles.
• The mix is then stirred and kept for 3 hours at room temp.
• Bottles are placed in 65oC bath for 20 minutes,
• Allow the bloom jars to cool for 15 minutes at room temperature
• They are then conditioned for 16 hrs in 10oC water bath.
• When conducting gelatin bloom test, the bloom jar is centered with the probe just
above the sample surface.
• The probe penetrates the gelatin to a target depth of 4 mm at a speed of 0.5 mm/sec
and then retracts.
• The peak force is a gel strength in grams bloom.
• Bloom may range between 150 – 250 g.
Viscosity: The viscosity for gelatin may range from 25 - 45 millipoise.
Iron content: Gelatin used in manufacturing of gelatin capsule should not be more than
15 ppm of iron.