Advantages and Disadvantages of Liquid Dosage Forms

These are liquid pharmaceutical preparations that contain a process of dissolving or suspending a drug substance and excipients in a suitable solvent or mixture of solvents. The tablets are designed to produce rapid therapeutic effects in the absence of gastrointestinal problems and/or provide maximum therapeutic response. Medications can be given as solutions or dispersions in liquid form. The dispersion of an active compound is a multiphase or a two-phase process in which another component is added to the formula, whereas pharmaceutical solutions are clear and homogeneous liquids that contain an active substance and a solvent.

Liquid Dosage Forms are useful for people who find it difficult to swallow solid forms of medication. Several additive ingredients are required for the preparation of liquid dosage forms. The list includes vehicles, stabilizers, and preservatives. Along with this, it also includes suspending agents, emulsifiers, solubilizers, colors, and Flavors in liquid dosage forms.

There are many types of liquid dosage forms, including syrup, suspension, eardrops, eye drops, etc. Ingestion or administration of a liquid medicine dose, Various routes of administration are available, including orally, intravenously, intramuscularly, topically, subcutaneously, etc.

Oral and parenteral routes of administration are available for liquid dosage forms (injections, inhalations, ophthalmic, nasal, optic, and topical).

Liquid dosage forms have several advantages

• Children and the elderly may struggle to swallow tablets or capsules, so liquid dosage forms may be a better choice than tablets and capsules.
• Their appearance is attractive and they provide psychological benefits.
• Sweetened, colored, and flavored vehicles can be used to deliver bitter and unpleasant medicines.
• Dosage is more flexible with liquid dosage forms compared with solid dosage forms like tablets and capsules. Measurement of a different volume can easily and conveniently adjust the dose of the drug substance.
• It is more difficult for tablets and capsules to be absorbed than liquid dosage forms if they are taken orally.
• Liquid dosage forms are absorbed at a much faster rate than solid dosage forms.
• Liquid dosage forms are suitable for the administration of hydrophobic and deliquescent medicines that are not suitable for solid dosage forms.
• Adsorbents and antacids deliver more intense effects in liquid dosage form than they do in tablet form.
• Solid dosage forms are more difficult to take correctly than liquid dosage forms.
• In certain types of medicines, such as cough preparations, liquid dosage forms are expected

There are some disadvantages to using liquid dosage forms

• The chemical degradation of liquid dosage forms is typically more pronounced than solid dosage forms.
• Bulky and not convenient to transport or store, they take up a lot of space.
• If the container is accidentally broken, the entire dosage form is lost.
• Because liquid dosage forms are inherently unstable, their shelf-life is very often shorter than that of their corresponding solid dosage forms.
• It is not uncommon for a solution to provide an ideal environment for microbial growth. For this reason, preservatives are often required.
• Vaccines, for instance, need to be stored in special conditions due to their liquid form
• A solid form of a drug has an unpleasant taste that is always more apparent when the drug is dissolved.
• The patient's measurement of the correct volume determines whether the dose is given correctly, which increases the chance for variability. For patients with vision impairments, arthritis, or struggles with reading numbers on their oral dosing syringe and medicine cup, this can be a significant issue.
• Breakage of containers is an issue.
• Instable compared to other forms.

Liquid dosage forms are the solution that contains vehicles, stabilizers, preservatives, emulsifying agents, suspending agents, solubilizers, sweetening agents, flavoring agents, coloring agents, etc.

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