Sugar-coating technique

Each laparoscopy should aim at a visual assessment of the spleen in terms of (7.) size, (2.) colour, (i.) shape, and (4.) identifiable spleen diseases. Special mention should be made of capsular fibrosis, hyalinosis ( sugar-coated spleen ), tumours (e. g. Hodgkin s disease, retothelial sarcoma), tuberculosis, splenic cysts, splenic infarction (s. fig. 35.10) and splenic haematoma. Given appropriate positioning, the spleen is visible in 80% of cases. In the case of myeloproliferative diseases, a biopsy of the spleen (e. g. by means of the Menghini technique) can provide a definitive diagnosis, (s. pp 135,253) (s. figs. 11.1 14.7) (see chapter 11)... 

Film coating involves the application of a polymer film to the surface of the tablet and, in contrast to sugar coating, only adds up to 5 percent weight to the final tablet, with a negligible increase in tablet size. It is a technique which, while used mainly to coat tablets, can also be applied to hard gelatin capsules, soft gelatin capsules and multiparticulate systems such as spheroids. 

Moisture. In relatively pure sugar solutions, moisture is deterrnined as the difference between 100 and Brix. In crystalline products, it is usually deterrnined by loss-on-drying under specified conditions in an oven or by commercial moisture analyzers that have built-in balances. Moisture in molasses and heavy symps is deterrnined by a special loss-on-drying technique, which involves coating the sample onto sand to provide a greater surface area for oven drying. The result of this test is usually considered dry substance rather than moisture. 

Tablet coating can occur by different techniques (e.g., sugar, film, or compression). Film coating has been the most common technique over recent years and will be the focus of this section.

Whether or not a core is suitable for coating depends on its hardness, shape, surface, size, heat sensitivity, and tendency to interact with the coating material. Moreover, since sugar and film coating processes involve very different techniques, they place different demands on the cores to be used [53]. Tablets used as cores must be biconvex in shape to prevent them from sticking together like coins in a roll. 

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