Roquette's new LYCOAT™ range for quality coating
17 January 2007
Film coating is widely used by the pharmaceutical industry for the aesthetic and functional benefits it offers for both patient and laboratory. Roquette has developed the LYCOAT™ range in response to market requirements for more functional coating solutions in terms of organoleptic properties, solubilisation and process efficiency. Roquette's new LYCOAT™ range is a major breakthrough in aqueous film coating.
LYCOAT™ is a modified starch specifically developed for aqueous film coating for immediate release, solid oral dosage forms. Coating time is cut in half, worries about lumps and foam are eliminated and the quality is unbeatable. LYCOAT™ offers enhanced performances compared with standard polymers currently available in the market.
The Process Advantages of LYCOAT™
Preparation at its simplest:
- Complete and very rapid dissolution at room temperature using traditional mixing equipment, for lump and foam-free suspensions
- A neutral polymer, LYCOAT™ leaves the flavour and colour of tablets totally unaffected
Low Viscosity for Substantial Cost Savings
LYCOAT™ is available in two viscosity grades: LYCOAT™ RS 780, developing lower viscosity, and LYCOAT™ RS 720, developing higher viscosity.
No production stop for cleaning operations or to use specific anti-bearding guns is necessare - as temperatures increase, LYCOAT™'s viscosity decreases, contrary to other polymers, thus avoiding the bearding phenomena. Even at high solid content, LYCOAT™ assures spraying uniformity and hence coating quality.
Quick Coating cuts Process Costs
LYCOAT™ helps reduce coating costs dramatically thanks to minimised coating times - a 3% LYCOAT™ deposit is achieved in about 30 minutes contrasting with the 60 minutes necessary with HPMC.
Time is also saved as there is no need for production stops to clean the gun.
The Coating Performances of LYCOAT™
pH - independent disintegration time: LYCOAT™ coating does not alter disintegration time significantly whatever the pH of the media: water, gastric or intestinal. Therefore, it leaves the API solubilisation unaffected, whatever the pH.
A brilliant appearance: Tablets coated with LYCOAT™ have a very attractive finish: uniform colour, smooth surface, high gloss. No logo-bridging, infilling or intagliations can be detected.
Film robustness: The LYCOAT™ films on the tablets present higher resistance to deformation and stress - no friability or edge chipping can be observed. LYCOAT™ also confers a good stability together with interesting barrier properties.
