SPI Supplies Brand® Empty Gelatin Capsules
We have the world's largest selection of empty gelatin capsule sizes, all quickly dissolvable
Introduction:
Gelatin capsules are universally known for their applications in the pharmaceutical industry.
What is not generally known is that there are wide-ranging applications for empty gelatin
capsules in numerous fields outside of the pharmaceutical industry. For general the smaller gelatin capsules
are used in microscopy and histology and the larger "jumbo" sizes are used more frequently for packaging purposes.
The SPI Supplies brand of empty gelatin capsules are produced to pharmaceutical industry standards.
SPI Supplies is not registered with the US Food and Drug Administration, we offer our capsules only
for applications that are other than pharmaceutical or food related. Our capsules are not for human consumption.
Dissolution characteristics of the gelatin capsules:
The single word "dissolution" and just what it means is subject to interpretation (and misinterpretation).
We state that "The gelatin capsules featured by SPI are known for their rapid dissolution properties,
90 seconds in water at 37° C/98.6° F." When we have done testing, in water, at room temperature,
we will agree that the capsules do not "disappear. But they certainly do soften, disintegrate and generally go away.
This description applies for all sizes.
In pharmaceutical applications, the function of a gelatin capsule is to hold the
contents until they can be released in a digestive system. The capsules sold by SPI
Supplies perform in exactly this way and are in fact "pharmaceutical quality" or
"pharmaceutical grade". For other applications, we don't know how
to extrapolate from our laboratory observations the rate of dissolution. One just has to try the product
and see if they indeed do or do not work.
If you do the dissolution test yourself, and immerse the capsule in water
(after first opening it so that it doesn't just float) it retains its shape for quite
a while, but when touched loses its strength and ability to contain anything.
This is normal behavior and does not in any way represent a capsule
that is not performing up to our description. We make this point because from time to time,
researchers try to do their own testing, and come to the false conclusion that something is
"not right" with the capsules supplied by SPI Supplies.
Properties of the gelatin:
The ultimate properties of the final gelatin capsules will depend on the nature of the
source of the gelatin. For many years, dry bones from dead cows in India represented
the prime source for the worlds best gelatin capsule quality gelatin. As the
quantity of the dried bones available for pharmaceutical industry use started to
decline, other sources for the gelatin have been developed. Ground pigs feet has source for
some amount of the world's gelatin capsule gelatin.
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Tuesday February 07, 2012
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