Soft Gel Capsule – Advantages And Disadvantages of Soft Gels

A soft gel or soft gelatin capsule is a solid capsule (outer shell) surrounding a liquid or semi-solid center (inner fill). In Soft Gel Capsule – An active ingredient can be incorporated into the outer shell, the inner fill, or both.  They are oral dosage forms for medicine similar to capsules. Soft gel shells are a  combination of gelatin,  water, and a  plasticizer such as glycerin and/or sorbitol.

Advantages of Soft Gel:

• Easy to swallow, no taste, unit dose delivery, tamper-proof.
• Wide variety of colors, shapes, and sizes.
• Accommodates a wide variety of compounds filled as a semi-solid, liquid, gel, or paste.
• Immediate or delayed drug delivery.
• Can be used to improve bioavailability by delivering the drug in solution or other absorption-enhancing media.

Disadvantages of Soft Gels:

• Requires special manufacturing equipment.
• Stability concerns highly water-soluble and compounds susceptible to hydrolysis.
• Limited choices of excipients/carriers compatible with the gelatin.

Components Of Soft Gel:

Soft gel is composed of a gelatin or potato starch matrix. Gelatin matrix consists of gelatin, plasticizer, solvent, and optional ingredients such as flavors and colorants.

GELATIN– bovine, porcine, or piscine (fish) origin. Comes in a variety of bloom strengths, the higher the bloom strength, the more resilient the gel. Most oil-based fills are encapsulated using a bloom strength of 150. When polyethylene (PEG) based fills are used, a higher bloom strength is generally used. The limitations of bovine (i.e. bovine-related diseases) and porcine (i.e. not kosher) gelatin may be overcome by piscine (fish) gelatin.

PLASTICIZER– Glycerin and Sorbitol Special are the two most common plasticizers. Glycerin is generally used with oil-based fills. Sorbitol Special is used with PEG-based fills. As well as, sorbitol is not soluble in PEG and therefore will not leach out of the shell into the PEG-based fill as Glycerin would. Sorbitol Special is formulated to inhibit sorbitol from crystallizing out in the gelatin shell. Do not substitute Sorbitol for Sorbitol Special.

SOLVENT– Water

Dosage Form Flexibility:

• Soft gel capsules offer unparalleled dosage-form flexibility:
• Encapsulation of a wide variety of fill formulations.
• A wide array of sizes, shapes, colors, and forms.
• Oral, topical, ophthalmic, and vaginal administration.

Optional Ingredients:

• Water or alcohol: up to 10% w/w, if needed for solubility.
• Glycerin: 1 to 4% w/w to retard the migration of the glycerin out of the shell into the fill.
• Polyvinylpyrrolidone: Up to 10% w/w used in combination with PEG, can increase drug solubility, and also improve stability by inhibiting drug recrystallization.

Halal Gelatin is one of the largest manufacturer of gelatin in Pakistan. They supply gelatin not only in Pakistan but around the globe like Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, and Germany.

If you are looking for good quality halal gelatin options, then we recommend visiting our Products Page

Written By

Itechx