Soft capsules are a packaging method commonly used in medicines or health foods, and belong to capsules. It is a capsule prepared by processing liquid medicine and sealing it in a soft capsule material. Hard capsules are a kind of capsules made by uniformly preparing a certain amount of medicinal material extracts into powder or granules, and filling them into hollow capsules.

Material Difference Between Soft Capsule and Hard Capsule

Hard capsules are made by adding powdered medicinal extracts to make uniform powders or granules, and filling them into hollow capsules. Hard capsules can mask the bad smell of the medicine, absorb well, and disintegrate quickly. It is suitable for drugs that are sensitive to light, unstable or unstable when exposed to moisture or heat, or drugs with a peculiar smell, or some drugs that need to be released regularly. Drugs for children and drugs that are highly irritating to the gastric mucosa should not be made into capsules.

Soft capsules are made by sealing and filling oils or liquid medicines that do not dissolve gelatin and other capsule materials in capsule materials. After proper treatment or processing with other medicinal polymer materials, hard capsules and soft capsules The shell is insoluble in gastric juice, but it disintegrates in the intestinal juice to release the active ingredients, and is an enteric-coated capsule.

Medicine Suitable for Making Soft Capsules

Volatile medicines

Soft capsules can ensure the loss of volatile components in medicinal materials and improve the quality and efficacy of medicines. 

Sensitive Medicines

Drugs that are sensitive to light, easily oxidized, or unstable when exposed to heat and humidity can be made into soft capsules. Adding a light-shielding material to the capsule material of the soft capsule can effectively enhance the light stability of the drug sensitive to light. Inert gas can be introduced during the preparation process, which can effectively prevent the drug from contacting the air. The capsule material of the soft capsule is composed of glycerin and gelatin. The capsule wall is thick and has no air permeability. The soft capsule is an excellent preparation to prevent the oxidation of the medicine.

Low Melting Point and Oily Medicines

Low melting point drugs and oily drugs are most suitable for making soft capsules. Soft capsules dissolve oily drugs and low-melting drugs with fat-soluble solvents or make emulsions for filling or dropping pills, eliminating the need for the step of adsorbing auxiliary materials, miniaturizing the preparation, and avoiding the free and permeation of the drug. There is a problem.

Medicine Suitable for Making Hard Gelatin Capsules

1. Drugs with uncomfortable bitter taste and odor are suitable for hard capsules, which can mask the uncomfortable bitter taste and peculiar smell of the drug.

2. The bioavailability is not so high that the drug can be made into capsules. The prepared capsules disintegrate faster and have better absorption effect.

3. Drugs with high oil content should not be made into capsules or tablets, but should be made into capsules.

4. Drugs that require timed release.

How are Softgel and Hard Capsules Made?

The manufacturing process of Soft Gels contains six main steps, and different equipment will be used in each step. Such as melting tank for gels, and encapsulation machine.

• Prepare gelatin to form the shell of soft gels

• Fill materials (liquids, oil, etc.) into shaped gel shell
  

• Finish encapsulation

• Dry soft capsules to remove excess moisture

The making steps of hard capsules is similar to that of softgels. The manufacturing of hard gels requires the capsule filling machine, in semi-automatic or fully-automatic operation. 

• Gelatin preparation

• One step in setting the melted gelatin in a standard mold

• Dry the gel and strip the gel shell

• Fill powder or granules into empty capsules