Dosage forms

SAYANTA THAKUR
SENIOR RESIDENT, DEP
OF PHARMACOLOGY
Dosage form: Pharmaceutical drug products in the form in which they are marketed for use, with a
specific mixture of active ingredients and inactive components (i.e excipients), in a particular
configuration and apportioned into particular dose.

Formulation: A pharmaceutical preparation containing active therapeutic ingredients and other

Formulation must be preserved against chemical and physical degradation, microbial contamination.

Therapeutic ingredients to be released in quantity required for onset and duration of drugs action.

Must possess attractive flavour, odour, color, texture to enhance patient compliance.
 The needs of designing
appropriate dosage form
•For safe and convenient delivery of accurate dose
•Protection from physical and chemical stress , i.e. coated tablets, sealed ampoules
•To conceal offensive taste or odour i.e flavoured syrup.
•To provide liquid preparation of drug substances i.e. suspension
•Optimize intended site of action
~Topical administration like cream, eye drops.
~Insertion into body orifices like suppositories.
~Directly into the bloodstream i.e injection.
~Inhalation i.e. aerosol.
Solid Dosage Forms
Powders: One or mixture of drugs to finely divided states intended for internal or systematic
use (aspirin powder, sodium bicarbonate powder)
Can be used externally (dusting powder)
Effervescent powder: Powdered drugs mixed with sodium bicarbonate, citric acid and tartaric
acid.
When dissolved in water they effervesce with evolution of carbon dioxide (i.e. eno fruit salt)
Granules: Small aggregates of powder held together by a binding agent (starch or alcoholic
spray) i.e. vitamin D3 granules
Can also be dissolved in a specified volume of water to make suspension for immediate oral use
in children. E.g. amoxycillin dry syrup.
Tablets: Powdered or granulated form of drug compressed to a round or disc like shape
suitable for swallowing.

 Ordinary Tablets: Uncoated compressed tablets e.g. aspirin, paracetamol tablets

 Sugar-coated Tablets: Tablets covered by sugars to avoid bitter taste of the ingredients
e.g. metronidazole and chloroquine tablets.
 Film-coated Tablets: Coating is done by gelatin or cellulose derivative to facilitate swelling and
mask unpleasant taste, e.g. Ceftum (cefuroxime film coated tablets)

 Enteric-coated Tablets: Coating is made (cellulose acid phathalate, keratin) to help in delayed
release of drug content in the body.

Pass unchanged through the stomach and released in intestine.

Coating is employed when the drug substance is destroyed by gastric acid/ irritating the gastric
mucosa/ bypassing of stomach to enhance drug absorption e.g. enteric-coated aspirin, enteric
coated enzyme preparation.
 Long Tablets (Delayed release, sustained release tablets):

Aggregated drug particle have individual coating with different inert resins so that each type of
coating dissolves at different time intervals.

Allows a uniform and sustained release over a period of 10-12 hours with less incidence of side
effects e.g. K gard (potassium chloride retard tablets), Diclonac-SR (diclofenac sod sustained
release).

 Lozenges or troche: Tablet containing drug with sugar and a gum meant for chewing or sucking.

Slowly dissolved to provide local effect e.g. clotrimazole troche, cough lozenges like strepsil.
 Chewable Tablet: Creamy base and flavoured.

Useful for large tablets to children and adults with difficulty in swallowing. e.g. Vitamin C
chewable tablets, iron chewable tablets.

Orally disintegrating or dissolving tablets: Disintegrates in mouth within few minutes to

Designed for children and elderly or any patients with difficulty in swallowing tablets.

Fast release with quick onset of action. e.g. desloratadine tab, paracetamol tablet, tadalafil
tablets.
  Capsules
Capsules are solid dosage forms in which medicinal agents are enclosed in a small shell of
gelatin
 Shells may be hard and soft
May be composed of two pieces- a body and a cap or a single piece.
 Two piece capsules – hard-shell capsules which enclose powdered drugs e.g. amoxycillin
 One piece capsule is known as soft-shell capsule which enclose oily drugs e.g. vitamin E.
 Spansule: Longer acting capsules, analogus to long tablets.
Coloured beads of drug granules can be noticed, which are different resins which dissolves at
different time intervals.
Liquid Dosage Form for internal
use
Aqueous solution

 Syrups: These contains drugs in concentrated solution of sugar plus flavouring agent and
permitted colours, e.g. various cough syrups.

 Liquors: Aqueous solution of medicinal substances which are either gas or are volatile e.g.
hydrogen peroxide solution.

 Linctus: Viscous syrupy liquids containing the drug with some demulcent, like menthol, e.g.
cough linctus to provide relief in sore throat.

 Injections: Sterile solutions or suspensions of the drugs in suitable solvent and preservatives
meant for parenteral use.
Depot injection: Longer acting injectable preparation in which the drug is dissolved in sterile
oily base , e.g. testoviron depot (testosterone depot inj.)

 Aqueous suspensions

 Mixtures: Solid drugs dispersed homogenously in water by suspending agents, e.g.

 Emulsions: Dispersion of two or more immiscible liquid medication by some suspending

 Spirits: 10% v/v solutions of volatile essential oils plus alcohols and are generally used as

flavouring agents, masking agents and preservatives, e.g. spirit chloroform, peppermint spirit.

 Elixirs: Pleasantly flavoured solution of a drug in sugar syrup or glycerol along with higher

proportion of alcohol, e.g. vitamin B complex elixir, cough elixir.

 Tinctures: These are alcoholic extracts of plant drugs e.g. tincture belladonna, tinct digitalis.
 Drops: Mainly paediatric formulations which contain small amount of highly concentrated

solution of drugs e.g. vitamin drops.

Eye/ear drops are also included in this category, which are sterile, isotonic buffered solution.

Enema: Medicated liquid preparation for rectal administration and are used for evacuation of

colon, e.g. soap water enema, procalys enema.

Rubbing allows penetration of active ingredients; mainly used as pain relievers.

Lotion: Liquid medicaments for local application but without rubbing. It has low viscosity,

intended for topical application on the skin e.g. zinc calamine lotion.

Tincture and solutions: Hydroalcoholic solution of inorganic substances are also called tincture

e.g. tincture iodine or solution e.g. providone iodine solution which are used a antiseptic.
Semi solid formulation
 Ointment: Soft, semi-solid masses containing the drug in a fatty or hydrocarbon phases e.g.
Neosporin ointment, silver sulphadiazine ointment.
Ophthalmic ointment are sterile medicated ointment for eye ailments, e.g. chloramphenicol
ointment, atropine eye ointment.
 Cream: Semi-solid dosage form contains one or more medicinal agents dissolved or dispersed in
either water-in-oil emulsion (W/O) or oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion, e.g fusidic acid and salicylic
acid.
 Gels: The active drug is dispersed in an aqueous vehicle. Jelly-like consistency is given by an
addition of a gelling agent.
They thickens on standing, hence must be shaken before use.
Should be stored in a tight containers to prevent water drops, e.g anti acne gel.
Miscellaneous formulation
 Paste: They contain solid material in larger proportion than in ointment, cream or gel; therefore
becoming more stiffer.
They remain in place because of having some adhesive material (like starch) or a foaming agent
(like carboxymethyl cellulose) e.g. zinc oxide paste.

Plasters: Solid or semi solid adhesive masses spread on paper, fabric, plastic or any other suitable

backing material. These are provided to prolong contact at the site.

Non-medicated plasters: provide protection or mechanical support at the site of application e.g.

plaster of paris cast.

Medicated plaster: provide intended effect at the site of application such as analgesia or vasodilation

e.g. plaster patches containing lignocaine or diclofenac sodium for pain relieving.
Special and novel dosage form
Inhalants: Liquid preparation containing a drug to be inhaled as vapour, e.g. tinct. Benzoin
inhalation and karvol inhalant.
The content may be poured into a jug of boiling water and inhaled.
Solid inhalants like fintal (sodium cromoglycate) are inhaled with the use of turbo spin inhaler.
 Aerosols: Colloidal (Particle size 0.001-0.5 micron) suspension of particles.
Either small air bubbles are dispersed in a liquid or droplets of liquids are dispersed in air.
Therapeutically active ingredients dissolved in a liquid is put inside a cylindrical container
(nebulizer) and then filled with propellant gas (air or oxygen) under pressure.
A push in the valve releases a measured dose of drug through microfined orifice which is inhaled,
then these are called metered aerosol.
 Suppositories, Pessaries and Bougies:
 Drug mixed with glycerine or gelatin or hard soap or cocoa butter.
 Remain solid at room temperature but become slippery and melt at body temperature
 Suppositories are bullet or cylindrical shaped, pessaries are conical while bougies are slender and
pencil shaped
 Clinical use:
 Rectal suppositories are used in relieving constipation e.g. Dulcolax suppositories and to relieve
pain, irritation , itching and inflammation in ano rectal conditions e.g. acetaaminophenon
suppository for children
 Vaginal pessaries for contraception (endometrin vaginal insert) and antiseptics (clindamycin and
clotrimazole)
 Urethral bougies are used as antiseptic and local anaesthetic.
 Transdermal adhesive patch: The drug is incorporated into polymer which in turn in bonded to
an adhesive plaster.
 The drug is delivered at the skin surface by diffusion, for percutaneous absorption into
circulation.
Applied over chest, abdomen, upper arm or mastoid region.
 These preparation provide steady and smooth plasma concentration for a period ranging from
1-3 days
Examples include transdermal patch of nitroglycerin, nicotine, diclofenac, estradiol.