Contents
Most pharmaceuticals are manufactured using the following technological operations - weighing the raw material, grinding, sieving, mixing, granulating, tableting (pressing), coating.
The production of tablets is characterized by three general technological schemes: wet granulation, dry granulation and direct compression.
Granulation - a set of physico-chemical and physico-mechanical processes that ensure the formation of particles (granules) of certain sizes, shapes, structures and physical properties.
Roller granulators (compactors) are used for dry granulation by compacting powders.
Single-chamber granulators combine three technological operations: mixing, wet high shear granulation and drying.
High shear granulator is designed to form a wet agglomerate by mixing different powders.
Fluid bed granulators are a method of producing granulates from liquid substances without changing the physical properties and their chemical formula.
Tabletting (tablet pressing) is a technological operation of making tablets from powdered and fibrous materials.
Press tooling is a special accessory for the tablet production with round, oval, specific shape, with a logo, etc.
Tablet press is a mechanical device that compresses powder into tablets of uniform size and weight.
Pelletizing is the process of creating spherical and oval aggregates from thin fractions of minerals in an aqueous medium, which takes place during agitation (mixing) of the pulp in the presence of a reagent.
Spheronization makes it possible to obtain spherical granules, provides good flowability, minimal deviations in weight. The essence of the method - the granules are forced through a sieve into the granulator and they are rolled to a spherical shape in special devices.
Filling of soft gelatin capsules is carried out using piston vacuum automatic machines, characterized by high dosage accuracy and high productivity.
For filling of hard gelatin capsules, machines of various companies are used, differing in productivity, dosing accuracy and dispenser structure. Depending on the flowability and the degree of dispersion (granularity) of the packed medicinal substance, the machines operate with screw, vacuum or vibration dispensers.
Lyophilization is a kind of conservation (preservation) technique in which the material is initially cooled to a temperature below its eutectic or glass transition temperature until it is completely cured. It is then dried under vacuum at low temperature using freeze-drying and desorption drying methods until 95-99% moisture is removed.
Coating of tablets with a coating is one of the stages in the production of solid drugs. The tablets are coated with special machines - coaters.
