Physical pharmacy

From WikiMD's Food, Medicine & Wellness Encyclopedia

Physical Pharmacy is a branch of pharmacy that deals with the application of physics and chemistry to the study of pharmaceutics. It is primarily concerned with the principles and theories that explain the physical and chemical properties of drugs, as well as their interactions with the human body.

Overview[edit | edit source]

Physical pharmacy integrates knowledge of mathematics, physics and chemistry and applies them to the pharmaceutical dosage form development. Physical pharmacy provides the basis for understanding the chemical and physical phenomena that govern the in vivo and in vitro actions of pharmaceutical products.

Principles[edit | edit source]

Physical pharmacy involves the study of the following principles:

  • Thermodynamics: This is the study of energy changes that accompany physical and chemical changes. In physical pharmacy, thermodynamics is used to study the various physical and chemical processes involved in the formulation and use of pharmaceuticals.
  • Kinetics: This involves the study of the rate of chemical reactions. In physical pharmacy, kinetics is used to study the rate at which drugs are absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted in the body.
  • Rheology: This is the study of the flow and deformation of matter. In physical pharmacy, rheology is used to study the properties of pharmaceutical dosage forms such as tablets, capsules, and suspensions.
  • Interfacial Phenomena: This involves the study of the behavior of interfaces, including the surface tension and adsorption at these interfaces. In physical pharmacy, interfacial phenomena are important in the design of dosage forms and drug delivery systems.

Applications[edit | edit source]

Physical pharmacy is used in the following areas:

  • Formulation of pharmaceuticals: Physical pharmacy principles are used to design and develop pharmaceutical dosage forms.
  • Drug delivery: Physical pharmacy is used to design drug delivery systems that can effectively deliver drugs to the target site in the body.
  • Quality control: Physical pharmacy principles are used in the quality control of pharmaceutical products.
  • Drug stability: Physical pharmacy is used to study the stability of drugs and pharmaceutical products.

See also[edit | edit source]

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Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD