Pharmaceutics is one of the most important subjects of B pharmacy or doctor of pharmacy, and it is defined as,
It is the branch of pharmacy which deals with the process of converting new chemical entities (NCEs) or existing drugs into a dosage form or medication for their safe and efficacious use in patients.
The art and science of preparation and dispensing of drugs is known as pharmacy.
The word pharmacy is derived from the Greek word pharmakon, meaning drug, medicine or poison.
Pharmaceutics can also be defined as,
Pharmaceutics deals with the formulation of pure drug substances into a dosage form.
Pharmaceutics is also known as the science of dosage form.
Pharmaceutics is the branch of pharmacy which deals with the design, development, formulation and manufacturing of dosage forms by transforming raw materials into safe & efficacious medicines.
What is a dosage form?
The physical form of a drug substance by which it is delivered to the site of action is known as a dosage form.
Example
Examples of dosage form are tablets, capsules,creams, syrup, suppositories
Branches of Pharmaceutics
Following are main branches of Pharmaceutics
- Pharmaceutical Formulation
- Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
- Pharmaceutical Technology
- Dispensing Pharmacy
- Physical Pharmacy
- Industrial Pharmacy
- Biopharmaceutics
- Pharmacokinetics
- Pharmaceutical Jurisprudence
- Pharmaceutical Engineering
Practical Explanation
It is clear from the definitions that pharmaceutics is the main field of pharmacy which deals with the manufacturing of medicines.
The pure API or drug can not be taken to produce its required pharmacological effects, so in pharmaceutics, we study how we can convert pure drugs into safe and efficacious medicines or dosage forms.
Different branches of pharmaceutics work together to identify the drug substance, to prepare its formulation by adding suitable excipients, to evaluate its desired properties and ensure manufacturing on a large scale by using sophisticated equipment.
If you want to join the pharmaceutical industry, then your pharmaceutics must be strong, and you must be familiar with the role and properties of different excipients, compatibility and non-compatibility of different excipients and APIs.
In simple words, you learn how to manufacture medicines in different dosage forms in pharmaceutics, i.e., you can create a solid dosage form for paracetamol by using the wet granulation method with the addition of different excipients & at the same time, you can manufacture a liquid dosage form of paracetamol in the form of paracetamol suspension.
In pharmaceutical engineering, you learn about different equipment that is used for the manufacturing of these dosage forms, i.e., you can use a high shear mixing granulator or a low shear mixing granulator, depending upon the properties of your product, and you can use a fluid bed dryer or tray dryers for drying of the wet products. So, along with the manufacturing of medicines, you also get a handful of knowledge on the equipment used for the manufacturing of these dosage forms.
In physical pharmacy, you learn about the physical and chemical properties of different materials i.e solubility, stability and particle size.
In pharmaceutical formulation you learn how to develop a dosage form of a drug and in industrial pharmacy you learn about large scale manufacturing of medicines along with quality control, quality assurance and regulatory compliance.
In short, pharmaceutics is a very interesting and practical approach based subject and is the backbone of the pharmacy profession.
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