Gelatin, a natural polymer with a long history of application, plays a vital role in the pharmaceutical industry due to its unique physicochemical properties and excellent biocompatibility. Gelatin plays an irreplaceable role in both the formulation of pharmaceutical formulations and in ensuring drug efficacy. Furthermore, various types of gelatin exist in industrial pharmaceuticals, each with its own distinct applications in pharmaceutical production due to its different preparation processes and properties.
Gelatin's Uses in Pharmaceuticals
1.A Core Material for Capsule Preparations
Gelatin's most well-known use is in capsule shells. Pharmaceutical gelatin capsules are a crucial carrier for oral medications. They consist of two parts: a cap and a body. Precisely designed dimensions ensure a tight fit, effectively protecting the drug within. The capsule shell is highly water-soluble and biodegradable. Upon entry into the body, it rapidly dissolves in the gastrointestinal tract, releasing the drug. This property not only prevents premature drug release in the stomach, reducing gastric irritation, but also ensures stable drug release in the intestine, enhancing drug bioavailability. For example, some drugs sensitive to gastric acid can be encapsulated in gelatin capsules, effectively avoiding the destructive effects of gastric acid and ensuring their complete delivery to the intestines. Furthermore, gelatin capsules can mask unpleasant odors and tastes, improving the patient experience and making them more accessible, especially for children and patients sensitive to odors.
2.A Powerful Aid in Tablet Manufacturing
Gelatin is often used as a binder in the production of pharmaceutical tablets. After drug powder and various excipients are mixed, a binder is needed to form tablets with a desired hardness and shape. Gelatin, with its excellent adhesive properties, tightly binds these ingredients together, ensuring the tablet remains intact during compression and resists breakage during subsequent transportation and storage. Furthermore, gelatin, as a binder, exhibits a certain degree of plasticity, allowing the tablet's hardness and disintegration time to be adjusted according to the specific drug's needs, thereby optimizing drug release. For example, for drugs requiring rapid onset, the gelatin dosage can be appropriately reduced to accelerate tablet disintegration in the gastrointestinal tract; for drugs requiring slow release, the gelatin content can be increased to prolong the tablet's disintegration time.
3.A High-Quality Coating Material
Gelatin is also an ideal coating material for pharmaceuticals. Applying a thin film of gelatin to the tablet surface serves multiple purposes. First, it shields the tablet from air, moisture, and light, preventing oxidation, moisture, and decomposition of the drug ingredients, thereby extending the drug's shelf life. Second, a gelatin coating improves the drug's appearance, making the tablet more attractive and smooth, making it easier for patients to identify and take. More importantly, gelatin coatings can achieve sustained or controlled release of drugs. By adjusting the coating thickness and composition, and adding appropriate additives, the rate of drug release in the body can be controlled. For example, with multi-layer gelatin coating technology, the outer gelatin layer dissolves rapidly, allowing for a portion of the drug to be released quickly, resulting in a rapid onset of action; while the inner gelatin layer dissolves slowly, allowing for sustained drug release and maintaining long-lasting, stable efficacy.
4.Other Uses
Besides the primary uses mentioned above, gelatin has other pharmaceutical applications. In some injectables, gelatin can act as a thickener and stabilizer, preventing drug precipitation or aggregation and maintaining solution uniformity and stability. In certain topical preparations, such as ointments and gels, gelatin can serve as a matrix component, increasing the viscosity and spreadability of the preparation, allowing the drug to better adhere to the skin surface and promote absorption. Furthermore, gelatin can be used to prepare microcapsules, encapsulating drugs within tiny capsule particles for targeted drug delivery and controlled release, enhancing therapeutic efficacy and minimizing side effects.
Different Types of Gelatin in Industrial Pharmaceuticals
1.Acid-Processed Gelatin (Type A Gelatin)
Acid-processed gelatin is typically made from pigskin using an acid treatment process. During the production process, the pigskin undergoes a pretreatment and is then placed in an acidic solution for hydrolysis, converting the collagen into gelatin. This method produces gelatin with a high isoelectric point, typically between pH 7 and 9. Acid-processed gelatin exhibits good clarity and low gel strength, and its relatively loose molecular structure results in good solubility in water. In pharmaceutical production, acid-processed gelatin is often used to make capsules requiring high clarity, such as those for high-end health supplements and certain pharmaceuticals. Furthermore, due to its low gel strength, acid-processed gelatin is also suitable for the preparation of certain specialized pharmaceutical formulations, such as those requiring rapid dissolution and release.
2.Alkaline-Processed Gelatin (Type B Gelatin)
Alkaline-processed gelatin is typically made from cowhide using an alkaline treatment process. After a series of pretreatments, the cowhide is immersed in an alkaline solution for a prolonged period, hydrolyzing the collagen into gelatin. Alkaline-processed gelatin has a low isoelectric point, ranging from approximately pH 4.7 to 5.2. Compared to acid-processed gelatin, alkaline-processed gelatin exhibits higher gel strength and better stability. In pharmaceutical formulations, alkaline-processed gelatin is widely used in the production of hard and soft capsules because its high gel strength ensures the capsule shell maintains shape stability during drug filling and storage, preventing breakage. Furthermore, in the preparation of certain pharmaceutical dosage forms requiring a stable colloidal structure, such as emulsions and suspensions, alkaline-processed gelatin can also be used as a stabilizer to prevent drug particle aggregation and sedimentation.
3.Enzymatic-processed gelatin
Enzymatic-processed gelatin is a novel gelatin production method that has emerged with the advancement of biotechnology. It utilizes specific enzymes to gently hydrolyze raw materials (such as pigskin and cowhide) to convert collagen into gelatin at relatively low temperatures and in a short period of time. Enzymatic-processed gelatin offers stable product quality and high purity. This is due to the highly specific enzymatic hydrolysis process, which precisely cleaves specific chemical bonds within the collagen molecule, minimizing the formation of impurities. Furthermore, the production process of enzymatically processed gelatin is relatively environmentally friendly, meeting the green production requirements of the modern pharmaceutical industry. In the pharmaceutical field, enzymatically processed gelatin demonstrates significant potential for application in high-end pharmaceutical formulations and biomedical materials. For example, in some injectable pharmaceutical formulations, where gelatin purity and safety are extremely high, enzymatically processed gelatin is an ideal choice. Furthermore, in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, enzymatically processed gelatin can be used to prepare bioscaffold materials, providing an excellent carrier for cell growth and tissue repair. Gelatin has extensive and extensive applications in the pharmaceutical field. Different types of gelatin, due to their unique properties, play a key role in various stages of drug production. With the continuous innovation and development of pharmaceutical technology, higher requirements are being placed on the performance and quality of gelatin. In the future, the application of gelatin in the pharmaceutical field will continue to expand and deepen. By integrating it with new technologies and materials, it is expected to develop more efficient, safe, and high-quality pharmaceutical formulations, making greater contributions to human health.
Post time: Oct-17-2025