What are capsule covers made of traditionally?

Gelatin capsules, informally called gel caps or gelcaps, are composed of gelatin manufactured from the collagen of animal skin or bone.

Vegetable capsules, introduced in 1989, are made up of cellulose, an important structural component in plants. To be more specific, the main ingredient of vegetarian capsule is hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC). In the current market, gelatin capsule is more broadly used than vegetarian capsule because its cost of production is lower

The process of encapsulation of hard gelatin capsules can be done on manual, semi-automatic, and automatic capsule filling machines. hard gelatin capsules are manufactured by the dipping method which is dipping, rotation, drying, stripping, trimming, and joining. Softgels are filled at the same time as they are produced and sealed on the rotary die of a fully automatic machine. Capsule fill weight is a critical attribute in encapsulation and various real-time fill weight monitoring techniques such as near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) and vibrational spectroscopy are used, as well as in-line weight checks, to ensure product quality.

A new class of capsule has been developed whereby drugs can be embedded in the capsule shell matrix. This allows different drugs to be delivered using the same capsule. The drug might be in a solubilized form, suspended form or chemically bound form in the capsule shell matrix. The drug can be in the cap of the capsule, body of the capsule or in both body and cap of the capsule. One can embed more than one drug in the capsule shell matrix. The drug can be in the dissolved and suspended form in the capsule shell matrix. Thus, one can create various types of variations in these “drug-embedded capsules”. The rate of release of drug can vary based on the way drug is embedded in the capsule shell matrix and drug properties.

 

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