What Is a Solid Dosage Form?

We can define a solid dosage form as a term used to describe a substance with a well-defined shape and volume that is manufactured using specific ingredients. These ingredients are combined and processed to form the final product, a solid dosage form.

Solid dosage forms can be capsules, granules, pills, tablets, and powders. Solid dosage form is a common term used in the pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries. In these mentioned industries, a considerable number of products exist in this form. In most cases, after processing, they can be administered or consumed in solid form.

What is a tablet press?

A tablet press is a mechanical device that compresses powder into tablets of uniform size and weight. A tabletpress machine can be used to manufacture tablets of a wide variety of materials, including pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, cleaning products, industrial pellets and cosmetics. To form a tablet, the granulated powder material must be metered into a cavity formed by two punches and a die, and then the punches must be pressed together with great force to fuse the material together.

Formulation and production process of solid dosage forms

How are solid dosage forms prepared? The formulation and manufacture of solid dosage forms involves many processes. We will focus on these core processes that occur during the formulation of solid dosage forms.

• Ingredient dispensing: Each solid dosage form has its own unique composition. The first step entails dispensing these ingredients according to the desired dosage. This means that the ingredients must be weighed and measured prior to dispensing.

 Tabletpress Machine

This stage requires maximum supervision, as minor errors in measurement can affect the quality of the dosage form.

• Resizing the ingredients: The ingredients are then resized accordingly before being moved to the next stage. In most cases, the size of the ingredients is reduced so that they can be easily mixed.

• Blend: The ingredients, now in powder form, are blended in the blender. They will eventually form a homogeneous mixture. Geometric dilution can be performed to obtain excipients for the ingredients.

• Pelletizing: The mixed powder particles are collected and arranged in layers. Here they eventually form the final aggregates, which will be the final shape of the solid dosage form.

• Screening and Drying: So far, the particles are wet, so there is an urgent need to dry them before any other process is carried out on them. These pellets are dispensed on a fluid bed dryer and dried to the desired temperature. The pellets are then screened and dried to a satisfactory level.

• Compression: As the name implies, this procedure entails compression of solid dosage forms. As a result of the compression process, tablets, capsules and pills have a compact form.

The dosage forms are also imprinted at this stage for identification.

• Coating: Solid dosage forms are coated for various reasons. One reason is to enhance their visual appeal, which is when the coating has an attractive color. Some coatings are used to mask the odor and taste of the product. In some cases, the coating acts as a protection, especially if it is strong.