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THE PHARMA REVIEW
(NOVEMBER 2009) |
Biocompatible use of Waxes
as Pharmaceutical Excipients
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Shridhar J Pandya, Pinal S
Patel, Samip S. Shah, Rakesh Ranjan |
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Introduction: The term wax generally refers to a
substance, which is a plastic solid at room temperature
and a liquid of low viscosity above its melting point. A
wax is chemically defined as an ester of a monohydric
long-chain fatty alcohol and a long chain fatty acid. In
the pharmaceutical literature, the term waxes, fat or
lipid have often been used interchangeably and no
consistent terminology has been established. Waxes have
been used as formulation ingredients in the
pharmaceutical industry for many years. Their
application in semisolid preparations ointments, creams
or lotions and suppositories are well known and numerous
publications exist on this topic. Because of their
lipophilic properties, waxes find numerous applications
in formulation.
Classification of Waxes
Waxes are obtained from various sources and are
generally classified in to animal insect, vegetable,
mineral and synthetic waxes.
A.
Natural waxes
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Animal waxes: - E.g. - lanoline, spermaceti wax, and
wool fat.
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Insect waxes: - E.g. - bees wax.
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Vegetable waxes: -E.g. - carnauba wax, Japan wax,
castor wax, candelila wax.
B.
Synthetic waxes
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PEG (molecular weight > 700)
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Hydrogenated oil E.g. - hydrogenated cotton seed oil
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Partially Hydrogenated oils
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