Drug Forms and Routes of Administration

Before FDA approval

• Rx company must clearly state in what form or forms the drug will be manufactured

• Rx company must clearly state what routes of administration are determined safe and effective

Tablets

• Drug form which contains dried powdered active drug

• Contains binders and fillers to provide bulk and proper size

• Many different types of tablets

• Indented line running across the top

• Can easily be broken into two pieces with a knife to produce two doses

Scored Tablets

• Covered with a special coating that resists stomach acid but dissolves in the alkaline environment in small intestines

Enteric Tablets

Slow-release Tablet

• Provide a continuous, sustained release of a certain drug

• Abb as SR slow-release or LA long acting

Caplets- Tablets

• Coated tablets in the shape of a capsule

• Easier to swallow

Lozenges- Tablets

• Formed with a harden base of sugar , water and flavorings

• never swallow

• dissolve slowly in mouth

Capsule

• Comes in two varieties

• generally easier to swallow

Soft gelatin- Capsule

• Manufactured in one piece in which the drug is in a liquid form inside the soft shell

Hard shell- Capsule

• Manufactured in two pieces that fit together and hold the drug which is in a powder or granular form

Creams

• A semisolid emulsion of oil and water- main ingredient water

• emulsifying agent added to keep mixed

Ointment

• Semisolid emulsion of oil and water- main ingredient oil

• normally applied to skin without precise measurement nitroglycerin- exception

Lotion

• Suspenion of an active drug in a water base

Powder• Finely ground form of an active drug

• can be contained in a capsule

• glass vials- sterile water

• packaged- water

Liquids

• Comes in one of 2 forms- Solution or suspension

• Solution never need to be mixed

• Solution drug fully dissolved

Types of Solutions

• Elixirs-alcohol & water base with added sugar & flavoring

• Syrups-sugar, water & flavoring thicker

• Tinctures- alcohol & water base used topically

Liquid Sprays

• Water & alcohol base

• pump or aerosol spray

• some dispened as foams

Suspensions

• Contain fine, undissolved particles of a drug suspended in a liquid base

• Important to always shake before use

Suspension Types

• Water base- distilled or sterile

• emulsion- fat particles & water

• gel-suspended in a thicken water medium- does not have to be shaken

Suppository

• A solid base of glycerin or cocoa butter containing the drug

• Rectal or Vaginal

• Adult or pediatric sizes

Transdermal

• Consist of a multi-layered disk of a drug reservoir, a porous membrane and a adhesive layer to it to the skin

• Patches

Pellet/Bead

• Drug can be implanted in the body in the form of a pellet or bead that slowly releases into tissue