When Capsules Fall Apart, Who Is To Blame?

By Robert G. McGregor, General Manager, Brookfield Engineering

Capsule integrity is a given for established manufacturers with impeccable reputations.  Consumers, however, know from experience that not all capsules are made equal.  Some can be difficult to extract from the blister pack.  Others may have gel caps with cracks or, even worse, ruptures that allow the ingredients to spill out.  Is this a manufacturing problem?  Or has R&D neglected to implement a fool proof test methodology for evaluating capsule stability?  Compression and tension testing offer a technical approach with quantifiable results that can be used to assess capsule performance.

This article explains the types of tests that are possible using texture analysis instrumentation to measure how gelatin capsules will hold up.  Analyzers, like the instrument shown in Figure 1, are simple to operate and come with a variety of fixtures and probes that can evaluate the physical properties of capsules, such as crush worthiness, durability, and tensile strength.  One important point is that R&D Departments can easily transfer the test methods to Manufacturing because the learning curve for use of such instruments is on the order of minutes.