Gelatin

Gelatin is widely used in a variety of pharmaceutical formulations, including its use as a biodegradable matrix material in an implantable delivery system, although it is most frequently used to form either hard or soft gelatin capsules. Gelatin capsules are unit-dosage forms designed mainly for oral administration. Soft capsules on the market also include those for rectal and vaginal administration. Hard capsules can be filled with solid (powders, granules, pellets, tablets, and mixtures thereof), semisolid and liquid fillings, whereas soft capsules are mainly filled with semisolid or liquid fillings. In hard capsules, the active drug is always incorporated into the filling, while in soft capsules the drug substance can also be incorporated into the thick soft capsule shell. Gelatin is soluble in warm water (>308C), and a gelatin capsule will initially swell and finally dissolve in gastric fluid to release its contents rapidly. It is a suspending agent, tablet binder, viscosity-increasing agent.

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