Introduction

Thickener refers to a new type of functional polymer material used to improve the viscosity or consistency of the product, with a small dosage, thickening obvious, easy to use and so on, is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry. These excipients enhance the stability, spreadability, and overall sensory experience of pharmaceutical products, ensuring consistent of active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Importance of Thickener Excipients

Thickener excipients serve several important functions in pharmaceutical formulations

Viscosity Control: Thickener excipients help control the viscosity of liquid and semi-solid formulations, ensuring the appropriate flow characteristics and dosage accuracy. They contribute to the desired texture and consistency of creams, gels, suspensions, and syrups.

Stabilization: Thickening agents enhance the stability and prevent phase separation in emulsions, suspensions, and topical formulations. They contribute to long-term product integrity by reducing the settling of suspended particles and maintaining homogeneity.

Enhanced Spreading and Adhesion: Thickener excipients improve the spreadability and adhesion of topical formulations, ensuring proper coverage and absorption of the active ingredients. They enhance the contact time and effectiveness of creams, ointments, and gels on the skin.

Taste-Masking: Thickening agents can contribute to masking unpleasant tastes and improving the palatability of oral liquid formulations, making them more acceptable to patients, particularly for pediatric and geriatric populations.

Subtypes of Thickener Excipients

Cellulosic Thickeners

Through hydrogen bonding, the hydrophobic backbone of the cellulose thickener molecule is joined to the nearby water molecules, increasing the fluid volume of the polymer and decreasing the amount of room for the particles to move about, so raising the viscosity of the system. The entanglement of molecular chains, which manifests as high viscosity at static and low shear and low viscosity at high shear, is another way to achieve the viscosity rise. This is due to the fact that the system exhibits high viscosity at static or low shear speeds when the cellulose molecular chain is disorganized; but, at high shear speeds, when the molecules are arranged in an orderly fashion and are simple to glide past one another, the system exhibits lower viscosity.

Natural Gum Thickeners

Natural gum thickeners, including xanthan gum and guar gum, are derived from plant sources and offer excellent thickening and stabilizing properties. They find application in oral liquid formulations, suspensions, and creams. Through the polysaccharide in the sugar unit contains 3 hydroxyl groups and water molecules interact with the formation of three-dimensional hydration network structure, so as to achieve the effect of thickening.

Inorganic Thickeners

Inorganic salt is typically used as a thickening agent in aqueous systems. Surfactants in aqueous solutions form micelles, and the presence of electrolytes increases the number of micellar bonds, which causes micelles to change from spherical to rod-shaped and increases the viscosity of the system. However, "salt precipitation" occurs when an electrolyte affects the micelle structure, lowering the resistance to movement and therefore lowering the viscosity of the fluid. As a result, different kinds of thickeners and the amount of electrolytes supplied to the general mass fraction of 1% to 2% combine to make the system more stable. Inorganic thickeners, such as bentonite and magnesium aluminum silicate, are often used in topical preparations and suspensions. They contribute to viscosity and stability, particularly in products containing insoluble or inert ingredients.

Applications

Topical Creams and Gels
Oral Liquid Formulation
Ophthalmic Formulations
Parenteral Formulations

Conclusion

Thickener excipients enhance the stability, consistency, and usability of various dosage forms, contributing to the overall quality and effectiveness of pharmaceutical formulations. Partnering with Protheragen-ING, a reputable supplier, ensures the availability of high-quality excipients and supports the development of stable and efficacious pharmaceutical products. If you have any excipient requirements, please contact us by phone or email, and we will respond within 2-4 working days.