Pharmaceutics is the discipline of

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

that deals with the process of turning a

new chemical entity A new chemical entity (NCE) is, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a novel, small, chemical molecule drug that is undergoing clinical trials or has received a first approval (not a new use) by the FDA in any other application subm ...

(NCE) or an existing drug into a medication to be used safely and effectively by patients. The patients could be either humans or animals. Pharmaceutics helps relate the formulation of drugs to their delivery and disposition in the body. Pharmaceutics deals with the formulation of a pure drug substance into a

dosage form Dosage forms (also called unit doses) are pharmaceutical drug products presented in a specific form for use. They contain a mixture of active ingredients and inactive components ( excipients), configured in a particular way (such as a capsule she ...

Description

Pharmaceutics is also called the science of dosage form design. There are many chemicals with

pharmacological Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between ...

properties, but need special measures to help them achieve therapeutically relevant amounts at their sites of action.

Branches

Branches of pharmaceutics include: *

Pharmaceutical formulation Pharmaceutical formulation, in pharmaceutics, is the process in which different chemical substances, including the active drug, are combined to produce a final medicinal product. The word ''formulation'' is often used in a way that includes dos ...

* Pharmaceutical manufacturing * Dispensing pharmacy * Pharmaceutical technology * Physical pharmacy * Pharmaceutical jurisprudence

History

Pharmaceutics deals with the formulation of a pure drug substance into a

. Pure drug substances are usually white

crystalline A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macrosc ...

amorphous In condensed matter physics and materials science, an amorphous solid (or non-crystalline solid) is a solid that lacks the long-range order that is a characteristic of a crystal. The terms "glass" and "glassy solid" are sometimes used synonymousl ...

powders. Before the advent of medicine as a science, it was common for pharmacists to dispense drugs ''as is''. Most drugs today are administered as parts of a dosage form. The clinical performance of drugs depends on their form of presentation to the patient.

Education

Pharmaceutics is a specialization in the field of pharmacy. Typically, Pharm-D graduates can choose to continue studies in this field towards a PhD degree.

References

External links