Fundamentals of pharmaceutical technology: concept, features, goals and objectives

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 20:55

With the help of chemical medicines, a person has been curing various kinds of diseases for a very long time. Such preparations were made by the doctors of the ancient East. For example, in China in the 2nd century AD, products based on sulfur, copper, iron, and mercury could be used for treatment. Today, drugs made with the use of chemicals are very widespread. Treatment of almost all diseases is carried out using just such means.

Definition

Pharmaceutical technology is a branch of science that develops methods for obtaining various kinds of therapeutic, prophylactic, diagnostic and rehabilitation drugs in the form of medicines or therapeutic systems. The word techne is translated from Greek as "skill, art". Logos means "science".

The word pharmakon is Greek for "drug". That is, the expression “pharmaceutical technology” can literally be translated as “the science of the art of drug preparation.”

Development inAntiquities

Doctors began to treat people using specially made chemicals as early as the 2nd century. n. uh, maybe even earlier. However, the real flowering of medical chemistry, or, as it was then called, "iatrochemistry", fell on the period from the middle of the 16th to the middle of the 17th century. The founder of this science is Paracelsus. This scientist believed that without knowledge of chemistry, it is impossible to effectively treat people. Paracelsus was the first to classify metals and test many medicines.

Initially, doctors made various kinds of drugs only on their own. However, by the end of the 16th century, the production of medicines moved to pharmacies. In Moscow, for example, the first such folk outlet opened in 1673. In those days, not only pharmacists, but also barbers had the right to manufacture medicines.

Pharmacy in the XIX-XX centuries

In subsequent years, medical chemistry developed by leaps and bounds. In the 19th century, for example:

• started producing pills for the first time;
• invented hard gelatin capsules;
• developed drugs for subcutaneous injections;
• designed a syringe;
• developed filtration and steam sterilization methods;
• started using sodium chloride 0.9% as saline.

In the XX century. antibiotics were discovered and the production of drugs using biotechnology methods began. Later, even better medicines and methods for making them were invented.

Pharmaceutical technology term

Initially, medical chemistry was called iatrochemistry. Later, pharmacognosy stood out from the whole complex of such sciences. Further, this branch began to be called pharmacy. For a long time, the study and development of drug manufacturing technologies was considered a course of practical work. Later this science was referred to pharmaceutical chemistry.

At the beginning of the 20th century. The number of ways to prepare medicines has expanded significantly. Therefore, at the 1st Congress on Pharmaceutical Education in 1924 in the USSR, it was decided to give this branch of science the name "Technology of herbal preparations and dosage forms." It was an important stage in the development and formation of this direction.

However, later scientists began to develop such dosage forms as liposomes, macroregular drugs, magnetically controlled drugs, etc. As a result, the name chosen in the 1920s no longer reflected the essence and content of the discipline. Therefore, the industry was renamed "Pharmaceutical Technology".

Goals and objectives

The main task of this science is to identify chemical, mechanical, physical laws in order to use them in the production of drugs.

At the moment, scientists of this specialization are engaged in:

• improving existing methods of manufacturing medicines;
• the creation of new methods for the production of drugs, taking into account the latestachievements of related sciences.

Also, one of the goals and objectives of pharmaceutical technology is the search for new excipients that can improve existing drugs, make them more effective with a minimum of side effects. In addition, scientists of this specialization are engaged in:

• studying the stability of drugs and establishing their shelf life;
• studying the efficiency of technological processes for the production of such funds.

Studies pharmaceutical technology solutions, powders, tablets intended for treatment, prevention, diagnosis. Determining the effectiveness of drug manufacturing methods, scientists of this specialization take into account such factors as cost, product quality, raw material consumption, labor costs.

The importance of pharmaceutical technology as a science in modern medicine is very high. After all, doctors use drugs to treat patients in 90% of cases. Such funds are used in almost all areas of medicine. They are used by therapists, surgeons, gynecologists, traumatologists, etc.

Basic terms

The main concepts of pharmaceutical technology are:

• drugs - substances or their mixtures used for the diagnosis, prevention, treatment of diseases or changes in the state of the body;
• dosage forms - the state given to the means, convenient for use (tablets, solutions, capsules);
• medicinal substances - biologically active components used in the manufacture of OTC drugs (contents of medicines);
• preparations - a product made from medicines in a convenient state for use.

Throughout the existence of pharmaceutical technology, these terms have undergone significant changes. For example, initially finished drugs were called simply medicines in the world. This term was very widely used, including in Russia. But later, in agreement with other countries, the name “drug” began to be used in our country.

Today, all the terms in the list are the basis of pharmaceutical technology as a scientific discipline.

Biopharmacy

In the middle of the last century, when assessing the quality of medicines, the main attention was paid only to such factors as its color, smell, mass, volume. However, later it was noticed that drugs of the same composition, produced by different manufacturers, can vary significantly in effectiveness. As a result, a new direction of pharmaceutical technology has emerged that studies the dependence of the effectiveness of finished drugs on various factors - biopharmacy. At the moment, this industry is the scientific basis for the search for ways to create and manufacture new drugs. Biopharmacy studies the dependence of the effectiveness of drugs on:

• chemical nature of the active substance and its concentration;
• of the physical state of the medicinal substance (the shape of the crystals, the presence / absence of a charge on the surface of the particles, etc.);
• chemical nature and concentration of excipients, route of administration, dosage form;
• manufacturing techniques and equipment used.

Production of medical devices

Another area of pharmaceutical technology is drug technology. This science covers the processing of raw materials, as well as the chemical synthesis of compounds to create biologically active substances, enzymes, etc. in order to manufacture medical and veterinary products.

Prospects

Currently, pharmaceutical technology is considered one of the most complex scientific disciplines. For a correct assessment and understanding of the processes and features of the production of medicines, knowledge is needed in such areas as chemistry, physics, microbiology, pharmacokinetics, biopharmacy, etc. Science continues to develop rapidly, and new technological solutions that appear within its framework immediately become a step for next discoveries.

To create pharmaceuticals, technologies can be used, as you know, different. The methods and principles of drug production in the 21st century, in comparison with the 20th, have undergone significant changes. Of course, conventional tablets, capsules and solutions are still available today. However, the methods of production of pharmacological agents in the XXI century. had a big impactdiscovery and development of DDL - new methods of drug delivery based on nanotechnology.

For example, in pharmaceutical production technology, carriers such as:

• liposomes;
• polymers;
• micelles;
• conjugates, etc.

To predict and optimize the production of medicines, a technique such as mathematical planning of an experiment is widely used today. This technology allows you to create models with which you can identify the most appropriate production modes for the manufacture of drugs. This allows you to reduce the cost of the latter and at the same time improve the quality.

Features

The primary problems of modern pharmaceutical technology are:

• increasing the solubility of sparingly soluble substances in lipids and water;
• increasing the stability of heterogeneous and homogeneous systems;
• prolonging the time of action of drugs;
• creating targeted agents with specific pharmacokinetic properties.

When developing chemical-pharmaceutical drugs, modern scientists use technologies, among other things, based on the latest achievements of such sciences as colloid chemistry and polymer chemistry. These areas are also developing very actively today.

Currently being developed andnew methods of drying, extraction, microencapsulation of substances are being improved. Also, scientists are engaged in the creation of modern technologies for analyzing the effectiveness of drugs. As a result, drugs supplied to clinics and pharmacies today are becoming more effective and safer to use.