COATING TECHNOLOGY

K.SANJEEV KIRAN
13080040
LALITHA COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

TABLET COATING

Tablet coating is the

application of coating
material to the exterior
of a tablet with the
intention of conferring
benefits and properties
to a dosage form over
the uncoated variety

WHY TABLET COATING??

The core contains a material
which has a bitter taste in
the mouth or an unpleasant
odor.
Coating will protect the drug
from surroundings with a
view to improve its stability
Coating will increase the
ease by which a tablet can
be ingested by the patient.

CONT..
The core contains a substance
which is incompatible in the
presence of the light and subject
atmospheric oxidation.
The core is inelegant.
The active substance is colored and
migrates easily to stain hands and clothes.
Coating can modify the drug release
profile. E.g., enteric coating, pulsatile
delivery.

BASIC PRINCIPLE OF TABLET

COATING

Tablet coating is the

application of coating
composition to moving bed
of tablets with concurrent
use of heated air to
facilitate evaporation of
solvent.

TYPES OF TABLET COATING

Sugar coating
Film coating
Enteric coating
Controlled release coating
Specialized coating
Compressed coating
Electrostatic coating
Dip coating
Vacuum film coating

SUGAR COATING
sugar coating is a multistep
process.
Its use of labour is more, require
a fair degree of skill.
In suitable sugar-coating
equipment the tablet cores are
successively treated with aqueous
sucrose solutions which,
depending on the stage of coating
reached, may contain other
functional ingredients,e.g.
fillers, colors, etc.

ADVANTAGES OF S.C
Constituent raw materials are
widely acceptedno regulatory
problems.
No complex equipment or
services are required.
For high humidity climates, it
generally offers a stability
advantage over film-coated
tablets.

STAGES IN SUGAR COATING

1.

Sugar coating is a multi step

process.
SEALING
Applied directly to the
tablet core to protect it from
the water that is used in the
remainder of the coating
process.
SUB COATING
The actual sugar coating
which leads to 50-100%
increase in weight.

CONT
3. SMOOTHING
Additional smoothing prior to color
coating can also be applied to opacify the
subcoat to promote a brighter final color
4. COLORING
The most critical step of sugar coating,
consists of multi-step application of syrup
containing the required
color(dye/pigment)

CONT

5. POLISHING
Imparts the required gloss to the final
product.

In many applications, the sealing &/or

smoothing steps may be omitted.

SUGAR COATING FAULTS

A common fault is cracking and
splitting of the sugar coat which is
caused by excess residual moisture
from the processing.
Inversion and stickiness are caused
by the presence of inverted sugar
which is difficult to dry adequately.
Sugar coatings are unfortunately
brittle and are prone to chipping if
subjected to an inappropriate
mechanical stress.

FILM COATING
Film coating is a thin polymer-based coat applied to
a solid dosage form.
The thickness of such a coating is usually between
20 and 100 m.
Each and every tablet is passed through a spray
zone, where the adherent material is sprayed and
allowed to dry before the next portion of coating
and this process is repeated number of times.

FORMULATION

Film-coating formulations usually contain

the following components:
Polymer.
Plasticizer.
Pigment.
Vehicle.

POLYMERS
The vast majority of the
polymers used in film coating
are either cellulose derivatives,
such as the cellulose ethers, or
acrylic polymers and
copolymers.
Basically there are two classes
of such
material depending upon the
method of preparation; true
latexes and pseudolatexes.

POLYMER CHARACTERISTICS

Solubility

Viscosity

Permeability

Mechanical properties

Tackiness

PLASTICIZERS
Plasticizers are simply relatively
low molecular weight materials
which have the capacity to alter
the physical properties of a
polymer to render it more useful
in performing its function as a
film-coating material.
There are often chemical
similarities between a polymer.

CONT

The commonly used plasticizers can be categorized into three

groups:

1. Polyols
(a) glycerol (glycerin);
(b) propylene glycol;
(c) polyethylene glycols PEG (generally the 2006000 grades).
2. Organic esters
(a) phthalate esters (diethyl, dibutyl);
(b) dibutyl sebacete;
(c) citrate esters (triethyl, acetyl triethyl, acetyl tributyl);
(d) triacetin.
3. Oils/glycerides
(a) castor oil;
(b) acetylated monoglycerides;
(c) fractionated coconut oil.

COLOURANTS

This group of materials are

commonly used as ingredients in
film-coating formulae.
They obviously contribute to the
aesthetic appeal of the product,
but they also enhance the product
in other ways:
1. Identification of the
product
2.They reinforce brand
imaging
3.optimize the ability of the
coating to protect the active
ingredient against the action of
light.

CONT.

Organic dyes and their lakes

Sunset Yellow
Tartrazine
Erythrosine.

Inorganic colors

Titanium dioxide
Iron oxide yellow, red and black
Talc.

Natural colors

Riboflavine
Carmine
Anthocyanins

SOLVENTS/VEHICLES
water
alcohols
ketones
esters
chlorinated hydrocarbons.

Mechanism of film formation

ENTERIC COATING
An enteric coating is a
barrier applied to oral
medication that controls the
location in the digestive
system where it is absorbed.
Enteric refers to the small
intestine, therefore enteric
coatings prevent release of
medication before it reaches
the small intestine.

Composition of coatings

methyl acrylate-methacrylic acid copolymers

cellulose acetate succinate
hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose phthalate
hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose acetate
succinate (hypromellose acetate succinate)
polyvinyl acetate phthalate (PVAP)
methyl methacrylate-methacrylic acid
copolymers
Sodium alginate and stearic acid

Specialized coating
Electrostatic coating

Electrostatic coating is a
manufacturing process that employs
charged particles to more efficiently
coat a tablet.

Dip coating

Dip coating is a popular way of

creating thin films for research
purposes. Uniform films can be
applied onto flat or cylindrical
substrates.

CONT.
Vacuum film coating

Vacuum coating is a mechanized

process for applying coatings to
lengths of materials. The product
to be coated is motivated or
conveyed in a lengthwise fashion at
a constant speed, and these
speeds can be as high as 500 feet
per minute.

IDEAL CHARACTERS OF COATING

MATERIAL

Solubility in the coating solution.

Low cost

Ease of application without specialized

equipment.

Capacity to produce elegant looking product.

Stability in the presence of water, heat, air,

moisture and substrate being coated and no
change properties with aging.

CONT.
Essentially no color, odor or taste.
Compatibility with common coating
solution additives.
Nontoxic and ease of application.
Resistance to cracking and should act as
barrier.
Ease of printing procedure on high speed
equipment

METHODS OF PREPARATION- COATING

SOLUTION

1.

EMULSION-SOLVENT EVAPORATION

2.

PHASE INVERSION

EMULSION-SOLVENT EVAPORATION

Polymer is first dissolved in waterimmiscible organic solvent and

then mixed with an aqueous phase
containing surfactant and stabilizer.
The mixture is then emulsified to
form an o/w type of emulsion
which is then subjected to
ultrasonification or homogenization
to generate a fine emulsion
containing submicron droplets
Solvent is evaporated (EXaquacoat)

PHASE INVERSION
Polymers and plasticizer first undergoes
hot melting or solvent gelation and
combined with long chain fatty acids to
form a homogenous mixture.
A dil Alkali solution is slowly added to the
mixture under vigorous agitation to form
initially a w/o type of emulsion (water in
polymer)
As more aqueous alkali is added, phase
inversion occurs and a dispersion of
polymers in water is produced

COATING DEFECTS

PICKING & STICKING

BRIDGING
CAPPING
EROSION
TWINNING
PEELING AND FROSTING
CHIPPING
MOTTLED COLOR
ORANGE PEEL
WAITING PERIOD
BATCH SIZE
SOLUTION PREPARED
GUN GEOMETRY
SPRAY GUN CALIBRATION
GUN NOZZLES
PAN LOADING
CLEANING

. PICKING & STICKING

This is when the coating

removes a piece of the
tablet from the core. It is
caused by over wetting
the tablet or by poor
tablet quality

BRIDGING

This occurs when the

coating fills in the
lettering or logo on the
tablet and is typically
caused by improper
application of the
solution, poor design of
tablet embossing, high
viscosity, high %age of
solids in the solution etc.

CAPPING
This is when the
tablet separates in
laminar fashion. This
occurs due to
improper tablet
compression

EROSION
This can be the result
of soft tablets, an
over wetted tablet
surface, inadequate
drying or lack of
tablet surface
strength

TWINNING

PEELING & FROSTING

The coating peels away from

2 tablets stick
the tablet surface in a sheet.
together.
This indicates the coating
Common problem with solution didnt lock into the
capsules.
tablet surface.
Reduce spray rate or Due to over wetting, defect in
coating solution or high
increase the pan
moisture content in the
speed.
tablet core.

CHIPPING
This is the result of high
pan speed, a friable tablet
core or a coating solution
that lacks plastizer.

MOTTLED COLOR
Happens when coating
solution is improperly
prepared, the actual spray
rate differs from target rate.

TABLET QUALITY

Tablets must have the

proper porosity, surface,
hardness and moisture
content.
WAITING PERIOD
Most tablets cannot be
coated after being
compressed. The energy
within the tablet will be
pretty high, in fact it will
be warm. Hence the
tablet should be kept
aside for sometime.

SPRAY GUN
CALIBRATION

Must check the calibration

of the guns every time
you change products.
Means checking the guns
overall condition, its
filter, nozzle alignment
and needle condition.
CLEANING
Each component of the
spraying system must be
cleaned and dried.

GUN NOZZLES

The spray gun nozzles

must be kept clean and
free of product buildup.
Use a flash light during
coating to look into the
cabinet and check the
nozzles.

PAN LOADING

While loading the tablets

look for tablets that are
broken, capped,
chipped.