Advantages and disadvantages of tablets and Biopharmaceutical Classes for tablets
Tablets are more common in many medicines compared to liquids, suppositories, and other dosage forms, due to a number of reasons.
Advantages of tablets:
1- Oral administration is convenient and safe for drug administration.
2- Compared to liquid, tablets are more chemically and microbiologically stable as a liquid dosage form.
3- For manufacturing, tablets give accurate doses.
4- Tablets are convenient and easy to use compared to suppositories and intravenous doses, where you need an experienced person to give such doses.
5- Tablets can be produced through strict production and quality control procedures that ensure that the product produced meets pre-determined specifications.
6- Tablets may be formulated to contain more than one therapeutic agent even if there is an incompatibility between each active ingredient through formulation because each tablet is a two-layer formulation with each layer containing only one drug.
7- Tablets may be formulated to release the therapeutic agent at a specific site within the gastrointestinal tract to reduce side effects, enhance absorption at that site and provide a local effect (such as ulcerative colitis). This is not achieved by liquid formulations.
Disadvantages of tablets:
1- The problem of poor bioavailability of drugs due to unfavorable drug properties, eg. Poor solubility, malabsorption, malabsorption, and gastrointestinal instability. Besides, some drugs may cause local irritant effects or cause damage to the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract.
2- There is an increased level of product loss at every stage of the manufacturing process because tablets require a series of unit manufacturing operations.
3- Some drugs that are smelly bitter, or sensitive to moisture require a good coating.
4- The compressive properties of some therapeutic agents such as paracetamol are poor in high-dose drugs and may cause problems in subsequent formulation and manufacture as tablets.
5- In some patients who have difficulty swallowing, such as the elderly and children, it is difficult to give them tablets.
Biopharmaceutical Classes for tablets:
Class 1:
A)High solubility
B)High permeability
Class 2:
A) Low solubility
B) High permeability
Class 3:
A) High solubility
B) Low permeability
Class 4:
A) Low solubility
B) Low permeability