Excipient sugars

The incidence of diabetes and decreased glucose tolerance among the elderly is well documented [116,135-137]. Because of this, formulators should make every attempt to avoid using any sugar-containing excipients in their production processes. 

K. Izutsu, S. Yoshioka, and S. Kojima, Increased stabilizating effects of amphiphilic excipients on freeze drying of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) by dispersion into sugar matrices, Pharm. Res., 12, 838 (1995). 

The surface characteristics of excipients have also been studied and related to the dispersion and dissolution of poorly soluble drugs [58]. It was found that excipients with rough surfaces (such as Emcompress, with a porous surface) trap the drug particles in the indentations, which can then be blocked by fine excipient particles and decrease dissolution. Smooth surfaces (such as spherical sugar beads), however, produced high dissolution efficiency of the poorly soluble drugs. 

In addition to the reactions discussed in the present section, specific reactions caused by the presence of some excipients may occur in solids. A detailed overview would be beyond the scope of this work, and we will simply present here two non-redox breakdown reactions that involve reducing sugars (i.e., sugars that contain an aldehyde function). The two reactions, however, are of a non-redox nature in that the aldehyde group does not act as a reducing reagent. 

Refractive index Universal polymers, sugars, triglycerides, organic acids, excipients O.l-lOpg... 

Although spray-crystallized dextrose-maltose (EMDEX , J. Rettenmaier Sohne GmbH Co. KG, Germany) and compressible sugars are coprocessed, they are commonly considered as single components and are listed as such in the United States Pharmacopeia, while the third edition of the Handbook of Pharmaceutical Excipients has listed SMCC as a separate excipient (58). 

A variety of different artificial sweeteners have been approved for use in oral liquid dosage forms by the FDA. One general characteristic for artificial sweeteners is their very high sweetness compare to sucrose. This also results in a much lower concentration needed in the formulation, which can lower the cost and/or risk of incompatibility with the drug or other excipients. Additionally, a sugar-free formulation... 

Additionally, the stability of dyes in solution can be dependent upon the specific excipients used in the formulation. For example, FD C Blue 2 was found to fade more rapidly in the presence of several sugars (sorbitol, mannitol, dextrose, sucrose, and lactose) and that the nonionic surfactant Pluronic F-68 promoted the fading of FD C Blue 2. The combination of coloring agents can lead to complications... 

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