Soft Gel Capsules: An Elegant &

Versatile Dosage Form SIE

By Yousry Naguib, PhD

Soft gels (soft gelatin capsules)

are becoming a popular dosage Bringing Production In-
form for the administration of house: Getting Prepared
liquids, suspensions, pastes,
and dry powders in the dietary Supplement Industry
supplement industry. Soft gels Executive: What advantages
are easy to swallow, and have and challenges exist in
the ability to mask odors and bringing soft gel
unpleasant tastes. They have encapsulation production in
an elegant appearance, readily house?
dissolve in the gastric juices of
the digestive tract, and they Monte Monteleone: First, if
may enhance the bioavailability a dietary supplement
of the active ingredient. manufacturer is already
purchasing enough soft gels
In a recent clinical trial, the and the market exists for an
dietary supplement Glucosol increase of their soft gel
formulated in a soft gel capsule product line, and if the
showed a 30 percent decrease company has good
in blood glucose levels relationships with raw
compared to a 20 percent drop material suppliers, it would
seen with dry-powder filled two- be highly advantageous to
piece hard gelatin capsule bring soft gel manufacturing
formulation, suggesting that in-house.
soft gel formulation of Glucosol
improved its bioavailability. Producing soft gels is very
uniquenot just any
Definition and manufacturer can do it. It is
Characteristics much easier to make tablets
A soft gel capsule is a one - and two-piece capsule
piece, hermetically sealed soft products. The challenges
gelatin shell containing a liquid, include achieving proper gel
a suspension or a semisolid; formulations that can vary,
referred to as a fill. The soft gel and also ensuring that the
shell is usually comprised of a employees running the
film-forming material such as encapsulation machine and
gelatin, and a water-dispersible line are competent and well
or water-soluble plasticizer (to trained. It is very difficult to
impart flexibility). The soft gel learn the technique of taking
shell could also include minor a two-piece capsule formula
additives such as coloring and introducing oils to it to
agents, flavors, sweeteners, create a good flowing mixture
medicaments, and to run efficiently on the soft
preservatives. Soft gel gel encapsulation machine.
capsules can also be enteric
coated for certain applications. Soft gels have many
advantages for the
Gelatin is derived mostly from consumer, and for the
collagen by thermal denaturing manufacturer. The dosage is
with the aid of diluted acid or always the same from soft
alkali. Gelatin contains a gel to soft gel, and the
mixture of water-soluble stability is much greater.
proteins (84-90 percent),
mineral salts (1-2 percent), and SIE: What is necessary to
water (8-15 percent). These bring in a fully functioning
proteins contain a significant soft gel encapsulation line?
amount of the amino acids:
glycine, proline, hydroxyproline, Monteleone: A company
glutamic acid, alanine, arginine, would want to have a
aspartic acid, lysine; in addition minimum of 24,000-square
to other amino acids in smaller feet of space to house the
amounts. soft gel manufacturing
operation. This would be
There are two types of gelatins: efficient for a one- or two-
type A, which is derived from encapsulation machine
pork skin by hydrolysis with an operation. If the company
acid; and type B, which is wants to invest in building a
derived from bones and animal site for soft gels, then I would
skin by hydrolysis with an recommend going beyond
alkaline solution. Gelatin used 24,000 square feet to have
in soft gels is a blend of both the capability of growth to
types, or used individually. meet increased production
demands.
Gelatin is odorless, tasteless,
colorless, and insoluble in most Equipment needs include:
organic solvents (such as stainless-steel mixing tanks,
alcohols, acetone, chloroform), a cold-milling operation for
but soluble in glycerin, diluted particle reducing, and
acids and alkalis. Gelatin swells evacuation for the removal of
and absorbs room-temperature air in multivitamin products.
water, up to five to 10 times its Also needed are three
weight. It dissolves in hot ingredient-fill holding tanks,
water, and forms a gel upon and four stainless-steel
cooling. Gelatin is included on gelatin heating tanks,
the FDA list of inactive approximately 600 to 800
ingredients. kilos each; a Kathabar
system for drying and
The main source of gelatin is dehumidification; trays for
collagen, which is found in the spreading the soft gels,
skin and bones of animals such inspection tables, standard
as deep-water fish. Most of the polishing pan or a converted
soft gel capsules on the market Pelligrini machine for the
are made from an animal removal of the mineral oil
source, bovine or porcine. residue that remains on the
There are non-animal based sof tgel; a sizing unit for the
forms of gelatin to meet the removal of any slugs and gel
needs of those wishing particles and for the removal
alternatives to meat products of any over- and under-fills
for ethical or religious reasons. prior to packaging.
A vegetarian gelatin made from
Irish moss, which is derived Once the aforementioned
from seaweed and grows off equipment is purchased for a
the coast of Ireland, is available one-machine operation, the
but is costlier than the animal- manufacturer can then very
sourced gelatins. easily convert to a two- or
three-machine operation.
Manufacturing Process Following this, the only
In the manufacturing process of purchases other than the
making soft gel capsules, two machinery would be the
gelatin ribbons pass between gelatin itself.
twin rotating die cylinders. As
the ribbons meet, the liquid to The typical output of an
be encapsulated is injected eight- to nine-inch
between them. The capsule encapsulation machine is
halves are sealed and ejected approximately 87,600 soft
by the continuous rotation of gels per hour. From my
the cylinders. The shells experience, most
containing the fill are then dried manufacturers run the
at room temperature so that the machine(s) an average of 21
water content of each shell to 22 hours daily for such
ranges from six to 10 percent. products such as vitamin E
and fish oils.
Dissolution
The bioavailability of the bio - Downtime includes changing
actives in the soft gel depends gelatin and changing fill
on the dissolution of both its materials. If a company is
shell and fill. Dissolution of a running machinery under
chemical compound in the strict cGMP guidelines to
aqueous environment of the produce OTC products, the
gastrointestinal tract is often machinery needs to be shut
the rate-limiting step in its down for taking full sets of
absorption. If a substance, weights and verifying
such as oil, is insoluble in the adjustments of ribbons for
acidic solution of the correct thickness.
gastrointestinal tract, then its
dissolution can be slow. Worldwide, there are about
However, if this substance is eight manufacturers of soft
administered in a vehicle in gel production equipment,
which it is soluble, then the there are three domestically:
absorption process may be Soft Gel Solutions,
enhanced. Polyethylene Chatsworth Machine Co.,
glycols, cyclodextrins, and GIC Engineering.
carboxymethylcellulose, and Basically, all machines
emulsifiers have been used to produce soft gels in the same
enhance solubility of manner. They have rotating
substances in water. dies, and an independent
wedge and pump that
Dissolution problems of the soft controls the fill.
gel shell are less common; they
may become apparent upon SIE: What are the staffing
aging, which are attributed to needs for a full-line soft gel
the cross-linking of gelatin. The production division?
cross-linking causes the
formation of a swollen, tough, Monteleone: Producing soft
rubbery, and water-insoluble gels is a very unique
material. endeavorit takes a lot of
training to be able to produce
High humidity causes the these products and maintain
capsules to become soft, tacky, quality throughout the
and bloated and may increase operation. It takes four to six
the likelihood of moisture weeks to train an
migration from the shell into the experienced two-piece
fill material. Such a transfer can encapsulator to learn the
cause chemical, physical and basics, before considering
dissolution instability. leaving him alone to run the
equipment.
Basic Formulations
The formulation of capsule fill In the areas of blending and
can be developed to fulfill the gelatin heating, the operator
specifications and end-use needs to know how to follow
requirements of the product. formulas and apply certain
Capsulation of liquids that are techniques; in soft gels,
immiscible with water and non- materials need to be blended
volatile, such as vegetable oils a certain way. Particle size
and vitamin E, are easy and can be a big problem if not
require little or no formulation. done correctly. Teaching
However, solids that are not employees how to achieve
sufficiently soluble in liquids are the proper particle size takes
capsulated as suspensions. time.
Such materials should have a
particle size of 80 mesh or I usually cross-train the
finer. blending and gelatin
personnel so they can work
Capsulation of suspensions is in either area. In this
the most common form for a application, training must be
large group of dietary products. hands on you can't sit in a
Suspension formulation meeting room and look at
requires a suspending agent to pictures on a blackboard.
prevent the settling of the solids
and to maintain homogeneity Regarding personnel
throughout capsulation. The distribution, I recommend
most widely used suspending staffing the soft gel
agent for oil-based formulation encapsulating area with
is wax (such as beeswax), and between 10 and 12 full-time
polyethylene glycols in a non- employees for a three-shift
oil-base. operation. Two people on
each shift for blending and
At Soft Gel Technologies (Los gelatin areas (most
Angeles, CA), powdered companies with fewer than
extracts are usually combined four encapsulating machines
with soybean oil (as a carrier), don't need these two
yellow beeswax (as a operations performed on
suspension and thickening graveyard shift); one person
agent), and lecithin (as a per shift in the machine room
lubricant) for formulation in soft area (total of three), and two
gels. The relative amounts of inspectors, one for the sizer
the extract and the other and one to polish and
ingredients depend upon the package.
desired extract dose to be
administered. Teaching maintenance is
criticalit is essential for the
Limitations employees to know how to
Filling of soft gel capsules with properly dismantle the
liquid and semi-solid materials machines and to clean and
is possible if the "fillings" reset them. Maintenance
selected do not dissolve the personnel can control
gelatin. Thus aqueous solutions whether the equipment runs
would not be appropriate. But smoothly or causes the
substances in which gelatin is company to lose money due
not soluble are suitable. to a lot of unnecessary
downtime.
The following types of
compounds may not be Monte Monteleone is president
suitable candidates for soft gel and CEO of Castaic, CA -based
encapsulation: Soft Gelatin Solutions, LLC. He has
more than 34 years of experience
in soft gelatin production. SGS
liquids that can easily migrate provides consulting services and
through the gelatin shell, such in-house staff trainings,
as water (more than 5 percent manufactures soft gel
of the fill), and hygroscopic and encapsulation lines and supplies
volatile compounds auxiliary equipment. Monteleone
can be reached at (661) 775-2618
or [email protected].
aldehydes, which have the
ability to harden the shell and hence affect its dissolution
property

acidic or alkaline solutions should be avoided, unless they are

adjusted to become neutral; acids and alkalis can cause
hydrolysis and leakage of the gelatin shell

water-soluble solid compounds that may affect the gelatin

shell unless they are minor constituents of a formula or
combined with a carrier that reduces their effect on the shell.

In summary, soft gels are a useful dosage form for dietary

supplements; due to their elegant appearance and ability to
hold dyes to make colorful capsules. They are easy to swallow
and mask odors and unpleasant tastes. Soft gels can hold
liquids, suspension, and pasty material. They may also
enhance the bioavailability of active ingredients.SIE

Supplement Industry Executive

A-2 Brier Hill Court, East Brunswick, NJ 08816
Tel: (732) 432-9600 Fax: (732) 432-9288 [email protected]