2024/2025

Fifth Stage
First Semester/ Industrial Pharmacy II

Tablet coating
Lecture Eleven
28/10/2024

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 Outlines
✓Principle of coating
✓Objectives of coating
✓Advantages and disadvantages (H.w ??)
✓Types of coating processes or (types of coated tablets)
✓Materials
✓Coating methods
✓Coating equipment
✓Coating problems
✓Evaluation

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 The principle of coating process
Application of
Successful Agitation Moved coating agents Coated
Compressed compressed
tablet cores Tablets
tablet By Coating Application
Cores ? equipment of hot or fresh
air + Vacuum

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 Then, the general steps for coating are:
1) Agitation of the tablet bed (the whole system or tablet
bed).
2) Application of the coating materials (Spraying or
pouring), may be perpendicular or vertical, toward the
tablet bed.
3) Evaporation of coating solvents using fresh or hot air =
(Inlet)
4) Removal of vapors using vacuum or perforations =
(Outlet)
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 Objectives (= Importance) of coating
• Increase the mechanical properties
• Increase palatability (taste and appearance)
• Increase stability against environmental and
biological conditions
• Decrease some side effects of drugs
• Modification of release and targeting
• Separation of incompatible ingredients

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 Types
- Depending on the type of coating material or
layer:
1) Sugar coating 2) Film coating 3) Enteric
coating 4) Specialized coating

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-The type of selected coating process depends
on:
1) The nature of API.
2) The type of coating materials to be applied.
3) The durability of the tablet core.
4) The economics considerations of the
process.

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 Materials
Involves:
- Compressed tablets to be coated
- The coating materials (varied with
variation of the coating process).

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Q/ What are the ideal properties for tablets to be
coated?
1) Resistance to abrasion and chipping
2) Their surfaces are not affected by coating conditions
like heat or moisture.
3) Spherical shape are more preferred than square flat
faced tablets.
4) The chemical nature of tablets (hydrophobic or
hydrophilic), then S.A.A may be needed or not.

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The formulation of coating materials (the applied
coated layer) may be:
1) Aqueous dispersions such as sugar-coating formulations
2) Coating solutions (organic or inorganic containing single
or multiple solvent system, depending on the physico-
chemical properties of involved materials) as in film and
enteric coating formulations.
3) Coating emulsions (o/w) in which oil phase is volatile
organic solvent ( more preferred).

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 Sugar Coating Process
✓ Involves several steps (multistage), the duration of
which ranges from a few hours to a few days.
✓ The preferred tablet cores are with deep convex
surfaces and thin rounded edges to facilitate sugar
coating.
✓ Also, the cores should be relatively resistant to
breakage, chipping and abrasion due to the long
and vigorous steps of coating.
✓ Result in elegant, highly
glossed tablets What are advantages and disadvantages? H.W
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University of Basrah – College of Pharmacy –Department of Pharmaceutics 12
 Seal coating
Provides a moisture barrier (water
proofing layer) to increase shelf life,
and hardens the tablet surface to
decrease attritional effects.

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• Involve application of water-impermeable polymers
(sealants) dissolved in organic solvent, its quantity
depends on porosity of tablets
(so soaking up for first application may be needed)
• Common examples are shellac (with polymerization
on aging) and zein (alcohol-soluble protein
derivative from corn).
Shellac

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 (Why Sealing?)
Sugar-coatings are aqueous formulations
which allow water to penetrate directly
into the tablet core and thus potentially
affecting product stability and possibly
causing premature tablet disintegration.

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 Sub-coating
• Represent the actual start of sugar-coating process in
which there is rapid build up (typically increasing the
tablet weight by 50- 100%) to round off the tablet edges,
act as the foundation for the next steps.
• The sub-coating step consists of alternately applying
a sticky binder solution to the tablets followed by
a dusting of sub-coating powders and then drying.
• Subsequent sub-coats are applied in the same
manner until the tablet edges have been covered
and the desired thickness is achieved.
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• For spray processes, a subcoating suspension containing
both the binder and the insoluble powder is sprayed
intermittently on the tablet bed.
• With both methods of application, control of the drying rate is
critical for obtaining a rapid application of the subcoat.
• Then, there are two types of applications:
1) Aqueous gum-based solution , then calcium carbonate
powder (as a bulking agent).
2) Suspension of calcium carbonate in gum/ sucrose
solution.

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 Smoothing / Colored syrup coating
• To cover and fill in the imperfections in tablet surface
caused by sub-coating and impart the desired color.
• The first syrup coat contains some suspended powders are
called “grossing syrups”
- Dilute colorants can be added to provide tinted base that
facilitates uniform coating in later steps.
• Syrup solutions containing the dye are applied until final
size and color are achieved.

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Polishing
- Give the final elegance (shiny) using
a mixture of waxes or hard paraffin wax as
polishing agent.
Printing
- For identification (Code number, strength or
company name are printed)
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 Film Coating Process
• Application of film (polymer) as coating layer, colored or
non, aqueous or organic solution.
• More commonly used because it can give more
mechanical properties in less time or steps.
• Give less elegant tablets, but can make protection or
modification of release and targeting.
• The main disadvantage is related to use of organic solvent
(residual amount).

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