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Drug absorption and physiological availability depend on the drug being dissolved at the site of drug absorption. The rate and extent of dissolution of the drug from the capsule dosage form is checked by a dissolution test. This test provides a means of quality control to ensure that different batches of a drug product have similar drug release properties and
that a given batch of capsules contains the same dissolution as the batch that was initially shown to be clinically effective
The compendial dissolution test for capsules uses the same apparatus, dissolution medium, and tests for uncoated and plain coated tablets. However, in cases where capsule shells interfere with analysis, a certain number of capsule contents can be removed and dissolved by dissolving the empty capsule shells before proceeding with sampling and chemical analysis.
If the capsule floats on the surface of the dissolving liquid, a small, unreactive piece of loose material, such as a few turns of a wire helix, can be attached to the dosage form to force it to sink to the bottom of the vessel.
