Effervescent tablets are an interesting pharmaceutical dosage form,
offering some unique advantages when compared with simple tablets. However, the
manufacturing process involves some critical steps that need to be addressed
carefully during formulation and factory
design.
Introduction
Oral dosage
forms are the most popular way of taking medication, despite having some
disadvantages compared with other methods. One such disadvantage is the risk of
slow absorption of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), which can be
overcome by administering the drug in liquid form and, therefore, possibly
allowing the use of a lower dosage. However, because many APIs only show a
limited level of stability in liquid form, effervescent tablets, which are
dissolved in water before administration, have been formulated as an
alternative dosage form. Advantages of effervescent tablets compared with other
oral dosage forms include
- an opportunity for formulators to improve the taste
- a more gentle action on a patient’s stomach
- marketing aspects (fizzy tablets may have more consumer appeal than
traditional dosage forms).
The disadvantages of effervescent dosage forms are the need for larger
tablets, a complex production process and, very often, the need for specialist
packaging materials.
by Dr. Harald Stahl
Senior pharmaceutical technologist
at
GEA Pharma Systems
Mauchener Strasse 14,
D-79379 Müllheim,
Germany
Tel. +49 7631 701 614
Fax +49 7631 701 669
harald.stahl@geapharmasy
stems.com
This technical article was first publish in the journal Pharmaceutical
Technology Europe in April 2003, if you like to read the complete article
online please follow the link
or download the attached file.