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Gelatine is used in myriad ways in the pharmaceutical industry. It is used for the manufacture of capsules, tablets and dragees, and prevents drugs being damaged by air and light. Due to its good compatibility with human tissue, gelatine in sponge form is used to treat wounds and as a replacement for blood plasma in solutions.
Capsules and Tablets
As a component of hard and soft capsules, gelatine protects the drugs against harmful influences, such as light or oxygen. Soft capsules are mainly used for vitamins and food supplements while hard capsules are mainly used for medicines. Gelatine helps to keep the active pharmaceutical agents together reliably and for a long time.
Thanks to careful selection and dosage, even the release speed of active medical agents can be enhanced with the use of capsules.
Gelatine-coated tablets (caplets) are a new technological development. The external coating with gelatine ensures that patients can swallow the caplets easily and without any problems.
Vitamin Preparations
Using gelatine, very finely distributed vitamin A and E drops of oil can be converted into a free-flowing powder that distributes well in watery solutions. Surrounding the vitamins with gelatine protects the preparation against oxygen and light, and means that it can be kept for longer periods. The surrounding is soluble in warm and cold liquids. Fizzy vitamin tablets are just one example of this.
Gelatine Sponges
Gelatine sponges play an important role in dentistry and surgery. The blood-stanching sponges are completely absorbed by the body’s own tissue while the wound is healing.
Plasma Expanders
In emergency medicine, plasma expanders (blood volume replacements) based on gelatine are often used where a lot of blood has been lost in order to balance the patient’s blood volume again quickly.
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