PHARMACEUTICAL FORMULATIONS QUESTION BANK
Chapter 1: PHARMACEUTICAL DOSAGE FORMS
2 Marks
1. Define elixirs and linctuses.
Elixirs:
Elixirs are clear, sweetened, aromatic, hydro alcoholic liquids intended for oral use. The medicated
elixirs usually contain a potent drug such as antibiotics, antihistamines or sedatives.
The flavoured elixirs are non-medicated and are used as flavours and vehicles
Linctuses:
Linctuses are viscous, liquid and oral preparations that are generally prescribed for the relief of cough.
They contain medicaments which have demulcent, sedative or expectorant action.
2. Define ointment and paste.
Ointments:
Ointments are semisolid preparations meant for external application to the skin or mucous membrane.
They usually contain a medicament or medicaments dissolved, suspended or emulsified in an ointment
base.
Paste:
Pastes are semi solid preparations intended for external application to the skin. The pastes are
generally very thick and stiff and do not melt at ordinary temperature.
3. Classify liquid dosage forms with examples.
LIQUID DOSAGE FORM
MONOPHASIC LIQUID DOSAGE FORM BIPHASIC
INTERNAL EXTERNAL Emulsion
➢ Mixture Suspension
➢ Syrup
➢ Elixir
➢ Linctus
Application on the skin used in the mouth instilled into body cavities
Liniment Gargles Douche
Lotion Mouth wash Ear drop
Throat paint Nasal drop
Nasal spray
4. Give four advantages of liquid orals.
➢ Bioavailability is more than the solid dosage forms due to rapid absorption.
➢ More convenient and economical
➢ Certain drugs like aspirin and potassium chloride when administered in the solid dosage forms
cause gastric irritation. This is minimised by the administration of above drugs in the form of
solutions.
➢ Easy to swallow in case of children and people who are unable to take solid dosage forms.
5. Classify pharmaceutical dosage forms.
, DOSAGE FORMS
SOLID DOSAGE FORMS LIQUID DOSAGE FORMS SEMISOLID DOSAGE FORMS
*refer Q3 (2 marks)
Unit dosage Bulk External internal
Form * ointment *suppositories
• Tablets * paste *pessaries
• Capsules * cream
• Powders * jellies
• pills
Internal External
*dusting powder
Fine powders Granules & *insufflations
Effervescent granules *dentifrices
*snuffs
*ear powders
6. Define dusting powders and dentifrices.
Dusting powders:
These are meant for the external application to the skin and are generally applied in a very fine state of
subdivision to avoid local irritation.
Dentifrices:
These are applied with the help of a tooth brush for cleaning the surface of the teeth. They contain a suitable
detergent or soap, some abrasive substance and a suitable flavour.
7. Give two examples each for non-sterile semisolids and sterile ophthalmic formulations.
Non-sterile semisolids:
➢ Gels
➢ Creams
Sterile ophthalmic formulations:
➢ Ophthalmic ointment
➢ Ophthalmic gels
8. How are liquid dosage forms classified? Mention examples for each.
*refer Q3 (2 marks)
9. Define biphasic dosage forms. Give two examples.
Example:
➢ Emulsions
➢ Suspensions
10. Classify dosage forms with one example each.
*refer Q5 (2 marks)
Chapter No. 2:TABLETS
10 marks:
1. (A) With a neat labeled diagram, explain rotary compression process of tablet manufacturing.
A rotary tablet press machine is one of the most popular types of tablet compression machines.
, Normally, we use this machine for high production of tablets such as pharmaceutical industries.
Parts of Rotary Tablet Press Machine
• Hopper; holds powder you intend to press
• Die cavity; it determines the size, type and texture of tablets
• Feed paddle; directs material into the die cavity
• Punches & dies; they help to compress powder into tablets
• Cam tracks; they guide the upper and lower punches.
• Capacity controls; it ensures proper filling of the die cavity
• Compressors; they may include pre-compression and main compression systems. This compresses the
powder into a desired tablet.
• Ejection cam; this helps to remove tablets from the die cavity
• Take-off blade; deflects tablets into discharge chute
• Control system; controls and coordinates most functions of the machine
Working:
Powder Filling Stage
At this stage, you’ll feed the tablet press machine with powder.
That is, place your powder in the hopper from where it will flow to the tooling system of the machine ready
for compression.
Due to the geometrical shape of all hoppers, this powder will flow to the tablet press tooling system.
· Powder Metering Process
Tableting process involves precise filling and compression of powder in the die cavity.
Therefore, the machine should move excess powder that may be the source of any form of inconsistencies.
At this stage, your rotary tablet press machine should ensure the accurate filling of the die cavities.
This should include the desired volume and weight of powder that should be compressed into tablets.
, Four critical steps in tablet making process
During this process, the lower cam of the turret moves upwards to a predetermined level.
This results in excess powder that is scraped from the die surface.
· Tablet Compression Process
Basically, this machine derives its name “rotary tablet press” from the fact that it has a rotating turret.
It is this turret that holds the tablet tooling system.
Normally, the production capacity depends on the size of rotary tablet press machine’s turret.
In most cases, you may divide turret into the following key sections:
• Upper turret; section that holds upper punches
• Lower turret; part that holds lower punches
• Die table; a section that holds dies
With the powder filled in the dies to the right depth, the upper and lower punches begin to compress
the powder.
Normally, the upper and lower punches exert a predetermined amount of pressure that compresses
tablets to the right size and depth.
The pre-compression process removes any traces of air that might be within the powder particles.
From the pre-compression stage, it then moves to the main compression.
The main compressor exerts significant amount of force that compacts powder to a desired thickness
and hardness.
This is due to the pressure that is exerted on the punches by a series of pressure rolls.
Remember, this is a continuous process where the turret moves the in a rotary manner.
Normally, a complete revolution should produce the exact number of tablets as the number of dies on
the turret.
· Tablet Discharge
At this stage, the upper cams will pull the top punches back to their initial position.
Chapter 1: PHARMACEUTICAL DOSAGE FORMS
2 Marks
1. Define elixirs and linctuses.
Elixirs:
Elixirs are clear, sweetened, aromatic, hydro alcoholic liquids intended for oral use. The medicated
elixirs usually contain a potent drug such as antibiotics, antihistamines or sedatives.
The flavoured elixirs are non-medicated and are used as flavours and vehicles
Linctuses:
Linctuses are viscous, liquid and oral preparations that are generally prescribed for the relief of cough.
They contain medicaments which have demulcent, sedative or expectorant action.
2. Define ointment and paste.
Ointments:
Ointments are semisolid preparations meant for external application to the skin or mucous membrane.
They usually contain a medicament or medicaments dissolved, suspended or emulsified in an ointment
base.
Paste:
Pastes are semi solid preparations intended for external application to the skin. The pastes are
generally very thick and stiff and do not melt at ordinary temperature.
3. Classify liquid dosage forms with examples.
LIQUID DOSAGE FORM
MONOPHASIC LIQUID DOSAGE FORM BIPHASIC
INTERNAL EXTERNAL Emulsion
➢ Mixture Suspension
➢ Syrup
➢ Elixir
➢ Linctus
Application on the skin used in the mouth instilled into body cavities
Liniment Gargles Douche
Lotion Mouth wash Ear drop
Throat paint Nasal drop
Nasal spray
4. Give four advantages of liquid orals.
➢ Bioavailability is more than the solid dosage forms due to rapid absorption.
➢ More convenient and economical
➢ Certain drugs like aspirin and potassium chloride when administered in the solid dosage forms
cause gastric irritation. This is minimised by the administration of above drugs in the form of
solutions.
➢ Easy to swallow in case of children and people who are unable to take solid dosage forms.
5. Classify pharmaceutical dosage forms.
, DOSAGE FORMS
SOLID DOSAGE FORMS LIQUID DOSAGE FORMS SEMISOLID DOSAGE FORMS
*refer Q3 (2 marks)
Unit dosage Bulk External internal
Form * ointment *suppositories
• Tablets * paste *pessaries
• Capsules * cream
• Powders * jellies
• pills
Internal External
*dusting powder
Fine powders Granules & *insufflations
Effervescent granules *dentifrices
*snuffs
*ear powders
6. Define dusting powders and dentifrices.
Dusting powders:
These are meant for the external application to the skin and are generally applied in a very fine state of
subdivision to avoid local irritation.
Dentifrices:
These are applied with the help of a tooth brush for cleaning the surface of the teeth. They contain a suitable
detergent or soap, some abrasive substance and a suitable flavour.
7. Give two examples each for non-sterile semisolids and sterile ophthalmic formulations.
Non-sterile semisolids:
➢ Gels
➢ Creams
Sterile ophthalmic formulations:
➢ Ophthalmic ointment
➢ Ophthalmic gels
8. How are liquid dosage forms classified? Mention examples for each.
*refer Q3 (2 marks)
9. Define biphasic dosage forms. Give two examples.
Example:
➢ Emulsions
➢ Suspensions
10. Classify dosage forms with one example each.
*refer Q5 (2 marks)
Chapter No. 2:TABLETS
10 marks:
1. (A) With a neat labeled diagram, explain rotary compression process of tablet manufacturing.
A rotary tablet press machine is one of the most popular types of tablet compression machines.
, Normally, we use this machine for high production of tablets such as pharmaceutical industries.
Parts of Rotary Tablet Press Machine
• Hopper; holds powder you intend to press
• Die cavity; it determines the size, type and texture of tablets
• Feed paddle; directs material into the die cavity
• Punches & dies; they help to compress powder into tablets
• Cam tracks; they guide the upper and lower punches.
• Capacity controls; it ensures proper filling of the die cavity
• Compressors; they may include pre-compression and main compression systems. This compresses the
powder into a desired tablet.
• Ejection cam; this helps to remove tablets from the die cavity
• Take-off blade; deflects tablets into discharge chute
• Control system; controls and coordinates most functions of the machine
Working:
Powder Filling Stage
At this stage, you’ll feed the tablet press machine with powder.
That is, place your powder in the hopper from where it will flow to the tooling system of the machine ready
for compression.
Due to the geometrical shape of all hoppers, this powder will flow to the tablet press tooling system.
· Powder Metering Process
Tableting process involves precise filling and compression of powder in the die cavity.
Therefore, the machine should move excess powder that may be the source of any form of inconsistencies.
At this stage, your rotary tablet press machine should ensure the accurate filling of the die cavities.
This should include the desired volume and weight of powder that should be compressed into tablets.
, Four critical steps in tablet making process
During this process, the lower cam of the turret moves upwards to a predetermined level.
This results in excess powder that is scraped from the die surface.
· Tablet Compression Process
Basically, this machine derives its name “rotary tablet press” from the fact that it has a rotating turret.
It is this turret that holds the tablet tooling system.
Normally, the production capacity depends on the size of rotary tablet press machine’s turret.
In most cases, you may divide turret into the following key sections:
• Upper turret; section that holds upper punches
• Lower turret; part that holds lower punches
• Die table; a section that holds dies
With the powder filled in the dies to the right depth, the upper and lower punches begin to compress
the powder.
Normally, the upper and lower punches exert a predetermined amount of pressure that compresses
tablets to the right size and depth.
The pre-compression process removes any traces of air that might be within the powder particles.
From the pre-compression stage, it then moves to the main compression.
The main compressor exerts significant amount of force that compacts powder to a desired thickness
and hardness.
This is due to the pressure that is exerted on the punches by a series of pressure rolls.
Remember, this is a continuous process where the turret moves the in a rotary manner.
Normally, a complete revolution should produce the exact number of tablets as the number of dies on
the turret.
· Tablet Discharge
At this stage, the upper cams will pull the top punches back to their initial position.
