Film Coating Applications

For potent or short half-life active ingredients, efficacy and safety cannot be guaranteed unless dosage form itself provides a primary mechanism for regulating release of substance.​

Some substances are harmful to the stomach lining (e.g., aspirin) and some substances breakdown in the low pH condition of the stomach (e.g proton pump inhibitors). Applying A delayed-release (enteric) coating protects the stomach from the substance, or vice versa, when required.​

​

Many drug substances have bitter taste. Taste-masking is commonly used for the over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, especially chewable tablets.

​

The appearance of a tablet is particularly important to many markets, such as Asia. The ability to distinguish one product from another is a key GMP issue as well as product control.​

​

Some substances are sensitive to light, moisture or heat, and some can rearrange surface crystal form that can alter tablet appearance. Coatings can provide barriers to detrimental external conditions and suppress internal restructuring of the core substance.​

​

This technology is very versatile in that it can be used to layer hydrophobic (including amorphous) drugs, which are difficult to granulate. In addition, this approach can be used to separate incompatible drugs from other ingredients in the core, as well as apply a supplementary dose of the same or other drug on the surface of modified-release products. It is also the most commonly used technique for applying the drug substances to multiparticulates.​

​