How much do you know about medical talcum powder?

In the pharmaceutical industry, talcum powder has a wide and long history of use. It is often used as a lubricant and diluent in oral solid preparations such as tablets and capsules. At the same time, talcum powder is also included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia as a diuretic, anti-stranguria, and heat-clearing and summer-heat-relieving traditional Chinese medicine. As a commonly used mineral medicine, talcum powder is made from natural hydrated silicate ores through a series of processes such as crushing, hydrochloric acid treatment, water washing, and drying. This article mainly introduces the application of medical talcum powder in the preparation process and its application as a pharmaceutical excipient.

Application of medical talcum powder in the preparation process

1 Used as a dispersant for volatile oils

Talcum powder has a certain adsorption capacity, which can adsorb volatile oils onto the surface of its particles and evenly disperse them, and increase the solubility of volatile oils by increasing the contact area between volatile oils and liquid medicines.

2 Used as powder coating layer

In sugar coating, talcum powder can be used for powder coating layer. White talcum powder that passes through a 100-mesh sieve is suitable. The dosage is generally 3%~6%. It can not only eliminate edges and corners and facilitate coating, but also improve the stability of sugar-coated tablets. When transitioning from powder coating to sugar coating layer, pay attention to the dosage of talcum powder and syrup, and the amount of talcum powder is gradually reduced.

3 Used as a lubricant

At present, talcum powder is often used as a lubricant in the prescriptions of dispersible tablets, capsules, chewable tablets, effervescent tablets, and sustained-release tablets. Talcum powder can fill the depressions on the surface of drug powders, thereby reducing the friction between drug powders and improving the fluidity of drug powders. When talcum powder is used as a lubricant, the dosage is generally 0.1%~3%, and should not exceed 5% at most.

4 Used as a filter aid

Talcum powder is not easy to react with drugs and has a certain adsorption capacity, so it can be used as a filter aid. After 115℃ activation, talcum powder can be added to the liquid medicine while hot to absorb a small amount of polysaccharide, mucus, and gum impurities, and will hardly destroy the active ingredients of the medicine itself. It should be noted that talcum powder is very fine and difficult to filter.

Application of medical talcum powder as a pharmaceutical excipient

1 Used as a disintegrant for hydrophobic drugs
After talcum powder is added to the medicine, it can improve the hydrophilicity of the entire medicine because it is a hydrophilic substance, so that water can easily penetrate the medicine and disintegrate. Therefore, talcum powder can be used as a disintegrant to shorten the disintegration time of the medicine, especially hydrophobic drugs.

2 Used as an anti-sticking agent
The stickiness problem is a common problem in the coating process, which will lead to slow coating speed, longer production cycle, pellet adhesion, reduced yield, film damage, and affect drug release. The addition of talcum powder can improve the adhesion of the drug during the release process.

3 Increase the critical relative humidity of the drug
For drugs that are easy to absorb moisture, talcum powder can be added to the prescription to improve the stability of the drug. After adding talcum powder to the anti-inflammation granules, the critical relative humidity of the drug increases, and the product is not prone to moisture absorption during production and storage.

4 Influence on drug release
It has been reported in the literature that insoluble particles in functional coating prescriptions will affect drug release characteristics, but the results and mechanisms of action are different. Studies have found that when coating with acrylic acid, the increase in the amount of talcum powder will lead to faster release of theophylline. The reason may be that talcum powder is in a clumping state in the coating film, which increases its internal stress.

Summary

In the pharmaceutical and food industry, various medical studies have proven the medicinal and edible value of talcum powder, which can be used for addition and modification. As the application exploration of medical talcum powder continues to deepen, there may be more applications of this substance in pharmacy in the future.