In
pharmaceutics
Pharmaceutics is the discipline of pharmacy that deals with the process of turning a new chemical entity (NCE) or an existing drug into a medication to be used safely and effectively by patients. The patients could be either humans or animals. Ph ...
, sink condition is a term mostly related to the
dissolution testing
In the pharmaceutical industry, drug ''dissolution testing'' is routinely used to provide critical in vitro drug release information for both quality control purposes, i.e., to assess batch-to-batch consistency of solid oral dosage forms such as ta ...
procedure.
It means using a sheer volume of
solvent
A solvent (from the Latin language, Latin ''wikt:solvo#Latin, solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a Solution (chemistry), solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas ...
, usually about 5 to 10 times greater than the volume present in the
saturated solution
In chemistry, solubility is the ability of a substance, the solute, to form a solution with another substance, the solvent. Insolubility is the opposite property, the inability of the solute to form such a solution.
The extent of the solubi ...
of the targeted chemical (often the
API
An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...
, and sometimes the
excipients
An excipient is a substance formulated alongside the active ingredient of a medication. They may be used to enhance the active ingredient’s therapeutic properties; to facilitate drug absorption; to reduce viscosity; to enhance solubility; to i ...
) contained in the
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 ...
being tested.
During the
dissolution testing
In the pharmaceutical industry, drug ''dissolution testing'' is routinely used to provide critical in vitro drug release information for both quality control purposes, i.e., to assess batch-to-batch consistency of solid oral dosage forms such as ta ...
, "sink condition" is a mandatory requirement, otherwise when the concentration begins to get too close to the
saturation point, even though the
total soluble amount still remains constant, the
dissolution rate will gradually begin to reduce in significant amounts, enough to corrupt the
test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
results.
See also
*
Absorption (pharmacokinetics)
Absorption is the journey of a drug travelling from the site of administration to the site of action.
The drug travels by some route of administration ( oral, topical-dermal, etc.) in a chosen dosage form (e.g., tablets, capsules, or in so ...
*
Dissolution testing
In the pharmaceutical industry, drug ''dissolution testing'' is routinely used to provide critical in vitro drug release information for both quality control purposes, i.e., to assess batch-to-batch consistency of solid oral dosage forms such as ta ...
*
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 ...
*
Tablet (pharmacy)
A tablet (also known as a pill) is a pharmaceutical oral dosage form (''oral solid dosage'', or OSD) or solid unit dosage form. Tablets may be defined as the solid unit dosage form of medication with suitable excipients. It comprises a mixture ...
*
Tablet hardness testing Tablet hardness testing is a laboratory technique used by the pharmaceutical industry to determine the breaking point and structural integrity of a tablet and find out how it changes "under conditions of storage, transportation, packaging and hand ...
References
{{Dosage forms, state=expanded
Chemical engineering
Drug manufacturing
Drug delivery devices
Dosage forms