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Xavier Duriez, PhD - Ashish A. Joshi, PhD
Reproduced courtesy of Pharmaceutical Formulation & Quality magazine
Starch has been used for decades as one of the best-known excipients in various pharmaceutical formulations. Its use is often taken for granted that industry forgets that it also serves as a critical raw material for numerous specialty pharmaceutical excipients.
Starch is a natural polymer comprising a mixture of linear (amylose) and branched (amylopectin) homopolymers of glucose. Corn starch - and to a lesser extent potato and wheat starch- in its native and pregelatinized form is commonly used as a filler, binder and disintegrant in tablets and capsules. Chemical crosslinking of starch followed by substitution with various functional groups significantly increases its water swellability, permitting its use as a super-disintegrant in solid dosage forms.
Authors: Xavier Duriez, PhD, is Pharma Business Manager at Roquette Frères, Lestrem, France.
Ashish A. Joshi, PhD, is Project Coordinator (Pharma/Nutra), Roquette America Inc, Keokuk, IA 52632.
For further information contact
pharma.business.unit@roquette.com
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