Drip method
The drip process (also known as the blow process, Globex process) is used to manufacture soft capsules that are primarily filled with oils . It works automatically and, in contrast to the Scherer and Accogel processes, delivers soft capsules with a seamless capsule shell.
The lipophilic filling material drips through a nozzle at regular intervals. In addition, a heated gelatin solution flows into a tube that surrounds the nozzle and is cooled by a cooling liquid, liquid paraffin with a temperature of 4 ° C is often used here. The interfacial tension of the immiscible liquefied and hydrophilic gelatine and the lipophilic filling material create spherical bodies. As a result of the cooling, the liquefied gelatin mass solidifies around the liquid product, resulting in round soft capsules that do not contain any air pockets, which can be advantageous for the microbiological and chemical stability of the product. The soft capsules produced are then washed and dried.
The capsule size can be changed in a targeted manner by varying the nozzle head.
The output of the process is around 5000 soft capsules per hour, and the process is particularly suitable for small industrial batches. Due to the comparably small number of capsules produced per hour, the relevance of the process is less than that of the Scherer process (“ Rotary Die Process ”). The mass deviation of the drop method is around 3%.
literature
- Kashi Nath Kaul, Making Drip Pills , 1959
- DE4201178C2 - Process for the production of soft gelatin capsules according to a drop process, digitized material
Individual evidence
- ^ Rudolf Voigt: Pharmaceutical technology: for studies and work.