Methods for preparing suppositories
1- Handing rolling:
This method is considered one of the simplest and oldest methods used in preparing suppositories, in which cocoa butter (the base without the need to heat it) is placed in a mortar and mixed with other ingredients.
The ingredients are mixed with each other and formed into a ball on the palm of the hands, then starch or talc powder is placed on the rolling surface to prevent adhering to the mixture by rolling surface, then the mixture is formed in a cylindrical shape and cut into parts, then after that these parts are rolled to form a conical shape. This method is considered A little complicated and requires great practice and skill and is used only to produce small quantities of suppositories.
2- Compression moulding:
Method for preparing compressed suppositories, grated suppository base mass from a mixture of drugs and medicines, on which a special pressure is applied, and machines for making suppositories using a template.
The basis for the suppository is combined with the other ingredients by careful mixing.
The friction resulting from the process softens the base and transforms it into a consistency similar to its previous content.
Pressure is applied from one end to release the mass from the other end into the suppository mold or die. When adding active ingredients, it is necessary to omit part of the suppository base, based on the density factors of the active ingredients.
This method is very slow in production on a larger scale, and this mechanism has specific limits regarding the shape of the suppositories.
3- Fusion Method:
This method is widespread in the field of preparing suppositories by means of mold, so that it can be used with all bases of suppositories, such as: polyethylene glycol, Cocoa butter, and glycerinated gelatin, and mold molds may be small scale, which produces from 6 to 12 suppositories in single preparation, and there are some large scale, which is used in industries to prepare large quantities of suppositories, suppositories are prepared using mold in the following steps:
A) Melting the suppository base.
B) dissolving the drug in the melted base.
C) Remove the mixture from the heat and pour into a suppository mold.
D) Allow the thaw to solidify.
E) Remove suppositories formed from mold