Powders Advantages Disadvantages

Powders: Definition, Advantages and Disadvantages,

PHARMACEUTICS

Alok Bains

9/21/20232 min read

black magnifying glass on white and brown marble table
black magnifying glass on white and brown marble table

Powders: Definition, advantages and disadvantages,

Definitions: Powders are solid dosage form containing finely divided one or more medicaments with or without excipient for internal and external use.

Advantages of powders

  1. Improved Stability: Powders are more stable than liquid dosage form. They are less susceptible to degradation and microbial growth.

  2. Low preservatives: They are less susceptible to degradation and microbial growth. Thus, they require low amount of preservatives.

  3. Longer shelf life: Powders hove longer shelf life than liquids due to their improved stability.

  4. Easy to store: Powders are compact and light weight. Thus it is easy to store and transport them.

  5. Customised dose: Powders can be easily measured and easily divided into smaller dosage form. Thus most suitable for geriatric and paediatric patients.

  6. Diverse Application: Powders are used for oral application, topical application, inhalation and reconstitution for oral application or injection.

  7. Large dose: Large dose of the drug can be administered as powder dosage form.

  8. Flexibility to administer: Powders can be administered by dissolving it in liquid or by sprinkling on food, and by their encapsulation in capsules. These are make powders easy to administer.

  9. Taste masking: It is easy to mask unpleasant test of powders. This improves the patient compliance.

  10. Rapid action: Fast action than several other dosage forms. Quick absorption and action due to high rate drug dissolution.

  11. Economical: It is easy to manufacture powder dosage form. Thus it is cost effective dosage form.

Disadvantages of Powder dosage form

  1. Stability: Powders are stable dosage form. But they are most sensitive to moisture, heat and light. This reduces their shelf life if not stored properly.

  2. Contamination: Powder containers are susceptible to contamination.

  3. Acid sensitivity: Drugs susceptible to acidic pH cannot be administered as powder.

  4. Mixing error: Incorrect mixing or dilution affects the dose uniformity of powders.

  5. Dose inaccuracy: It is difficult to maintain dose accuracy. There is chance of over dose or under dose. Both are dangerous.

  6. Dispensing: Pharmacist may face difficulty to dispense accurate dose of the powders

  7. Taste and palatability: Most of powders are unpleasant in taste and texture. Thus there is less acceptability especially in paediatric patients.

  8. Inhalation: Fine powders are used as inhalers. There may be risk of respiratory irritation and inadequate delivery of medicines.

  9. Portability: Powders less convenient to transport by the patient than other solid dosage forms such as tablets and capsules.

  10. Inconvenience: Powder requires reconstitution with liquid before administration. It is inconvenient to reconstitute if patient is mobile.

    Author: Alok Bains