Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms, Drug Delivery Systems and Medical Devices

LABORATORY ACTIVITY
Activity # 1
Title Paper Tablets
Introduction Drugs may be dispensed in the powdered form for both oral and non-oral
administration.
Powdered dosage forms may be dispensed either as “bulk powders” or “divided
powders”.
1. Bulk powders are administered either:
(a) as “dusts” from sifter-top containers, aerosol containers, or by “insufflators”
(or powder blowers); or
(b) by subdividing at the time of use by measuring out portions by means of
devices such as the teaspoon, tablespoon, or special measuring devices.
2. Divided powders are divided and packaged by the manufacturer (or dispensing
pharmacist) as “powder papers (or chartulae)” or in foil or plastic envelopes.
Packaging Divided Powders-Specially manufactured paper and boxes are available
for dispensing divided powders.

Divided powders may be prepared by the pharmacist depending on the potency of

the drug substance. The pharmacist decides whether to weigh each portion
of powder separately before enfolding in a paper or to approximate each portion
by using the block-and-divide method.

Specially manufactured paper and boxes are available for dispensing divided
powders— Powder Papers.
Four basic types of powder papers are available:
1. Vegetable parchment, a thin semiopaque moisture-resistant paper
2. White bond, an opaque paper with no moisture resistant properties.
3. Glassine, a glazed transparent moisture-resistant paper.
4. Waxed, a transparent waterproof paper

Hygroscopic and volatile drugs can be protected best by use of a waxed paper,
double wrapped with a bond paper to improve the appearance of the completed
powder.

The powder papers may be of any size convenient to hold the amount of powder
required, but the most popular commercially available sizes are—
 2.75 × 3.75 inches
 3 × 4.5 inches
 3.75 × 5 inches
 4.5 × 6 inches

Powder Boxes—Various types of boxes are supplied in several sizes for dispensing
divided powders. The hinged-shoulder box shown in Figure F in the procedure is
the most popular; these have the advantage of preventing the switching of lids
with the directions for use when several boxes of the same size are in the same
home. The prescription label may be pasted directly on top of the lid or inside the
lid. In the latter case, the name of the pharmacy is lithographed on top of the lid.
Objectives At the end of this laboratory activity, the students will be able to:
1. Perform the block and divide method in preparing divided powders
2. Perform calculations in dispensing paper tablets
3. Apply Good Laboratory Practice in the preparation/compounding of paper
tablets
Materials and
Equipment 1 stub Furosemide Tablets
Pill Tile
2 Spatulas
Gloves
Mask
Vegetable parchment paper
Mortar and Pestle

Preparation
 Before the activity, at least 15-20 pieces of vegetable parchment paper
having a dimension of 2.75 × 3.75 inches.
 Prepare the powder boxes made from a piece of bond paper that will be
used as containers for the powder papers prior to performing the activity.

Procedure I. Cleaning and Sterilization/Disinfection of the Materials and Equipment to be

used.
1. Wash the materials and/or equipment that will be used in the activity.
Make sure that the surroundings are also clean and the working area
sterilized.

II. Preparing the powder (Block and Divide Method)

1. Triturate the tablet into powder form using mortar and pestle.
2. Calculate the exact number of dosage units and the correct amount of
powder to be used in compounding of the divided powder.
3. Place the entire amount of the prepared powder on a flat surface such as a
pill tile, or with a large spatula.
4. Form a rectangular or square block of the powder having a uniform depth.
5. Using the spatula, cut into the powder lengthwise and crosswise to
delineate the appropriate number of smaller, uniform blocks, each
representing a dose or unit of medication. Each of the smaller blocks is
separated from the main block with the spatula, transferred to a powder
paper, and wrapped.

III. Folding the Paper

1. Place the paper flat on a hard surface and fold toward you a uniform flap of
about 1/2 inch of the long side of the paper. To ensure uniformity of all of the
papers, this step should be performed on all the required papers concurrently,
using the first folded paper as the guide (Figure A).
2. With the flap of each paper away from you and pointing upward, place the
weighed or divided amount of powder in the center of each paper.
3. Being careful not to disturb the powder excessively, bring the lower edge of
the paper upward, and place it proximate to the crease of the flap (Figure B).
4. Grasp the flap, press it down upon the tucked-in bottom edge of the paper
(Figure C) and fold again toward you an amount of paper equal to the size of
the original flap (1/2 inch) (Figure D).
5. Pick the paper up with the flap upward and facing you, being careful not to
disturb the position of the powder, and place the partially folded paper over
the open powder box (to serve as the container) so that the ends of the paper
extend equally beyond the sides (lengthwise) of the open container. Then,
press the sides of the box slightly inward and the ends of the paper gently
downward along the sides of the box to form a crease on each end of the paper
(Figure E.).
6. Place the folded paper in the box so that the double-folded flaps are at the
top, facing you, and the ends are folded away from you (Figure F).
Calculation Situation:
Patient X.Y. is a 4 y.o. child weighing 16 kg, who was prescribed with Furosemide.
The dosage for Furosemide is 2mg/kg/dose to be taken bid for five days. The Px is
still unable to swallow tablets and unfortunately, Furosemide is only available as a
40 mg Tablet preparation.

Task: You are to prepare paper tablets for Patient X.Y.

a. Compute for the total dose the child must take per day
b. Compute for the total dose required to complete the prescription
c. Compute for the number of tablets that will be used
d. Compute for the total number of individual paper tabs to be prepared

Computation
Conclusion
Post Lab 1. What class of drugs does Furosemide belong to?
Questions

2. What are the indications of Furosemide?

3. What special instructions can you advise the patient’s caregiver/guardian

regarding the administration of the furosemide powder?

4. What are the advantages of powders over other pharmaceutical dosage

forms? (Provide at least 2 answers)

5. Give one disadvantage of powders as a pharmaceutical dosage form?

Documentation
References “Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms and Drug Delivery Systems”, 10th Ed., Howard C.
Ansel,
“Pharmaceutical Calculations”, 1st Ed., Payal Agarwal,
“Remington: “The Science and Practice of Pharmacy”, 21st Edition.