Updated and expanded second edition covers all aspects of capsule technology, including history, standards, methods and equipment used in manufacture, filling, printing, weighing, cleaning and inspecting of both hard and soft capsules.

Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms: Capsules covers the development, composition, and manufacture of capsules. Despite the important role that capsules play in drug delivery and product development, few comprehensive texts on the science and technology of capsules have been available for the research and academic environments. This text addresses this gap, discussing how capsules provide unique capabilities and options for dosage form design and formulation.

Art and science collaborate on a fascinating story with extraordinary images in a highly-acclaimed book. Seeds, the most complex organs produced by plants, ensure the biodiversity of our planet. They vary from the impressive Seychelles nut that weighs twenty kilos to the dust-like seeds of the orchids. Some wait for hundreds of years to find the right place and time for germination after travelling thousands of kilometres or just a few centimetres. The evolution of their highly sophisticated structures from prehistoric times to today makes fascinating reading as do the wiles plants use to attract and deceive their chosen pollinators. The extraordinary images that accompany this story provide an unprecedented presentation of the magnificent diversity of seeds in all their exquisite beauty and sophistication. Fruits are the keepers of the precious seeds that ensure our future; some are edible, others inedible and many, quite simply, incredible.

Many bacteria, such as certain Neisseria and Haemophilus or Escherichia coli, are able to withstand the bactericidal activity of complement and phagocytes. This bacterial self protection is brought about by encapsulation. Bacterial capsules thus enable the pathogenic bacteria to survive in the host by counter action or evasion of the nonspecific host defense in the early pre immune phase of an infection. It is only in the late immune phase of the infection, when specific anticapsular antibodies are formed and enforce the host's defense system, that this protective action is overcome. Encapsulated bacteria are then killed and eliminated. Interestingly, some capsules can not or only inefficiently be handled by the immune system. The ensuing lack of antibody formation results in a prolonged susceptibility of the host to the pathogenic bacteria exhibiting such capsules. It was found that bacterial capsules consist of acidic poly saccharides. From this it followed that the role of the capsules in the interaction of encapsulated bacteria with the host may be due to the chemistry of the capsular polysaccharides. This led to intensive studies of capsular polysaccharides in many laboratories. Our increasing knowledge of the structural features of capsular polysaccharides prompted not only immuno chemical studies analyzing the interactions of these poly saccharide antigens and characterizing the epitopes, but also investigations into their biosynthesis. These studies were complemented and supported by genetic analyses. Today many interdisciplinary investigations of capsular polysaccharides are in progress.

Polymers are one of the most versatile and important materials used for capsule preparation despite various others available. Suitably formulated capsules can securely protect ingredients, deliver them to targeted sites, and release them expeditiously, improving functions and minimizing adverse effects. New polymers are constantly being explored to develop more efficient capsules as they are routinely used in pharmaceuticals, consumer healthcare products, nutrients, and food. This book focuses on the current state of the art of polymer-based capsules and delivery systems. It describes the formulation processes of capsules developed from redox-responsive polymers and polymer-functionalized carbon nanotubes, in addition to shedding light on coacervation of polymers for encapsulation. It reviews different active ingredients that can be used with polymer capsules in various products, encapsulation of essential oils using such capsules, and development of polymer capsules of cells and bacteriophages.

This volume provides a comprehensive introduction and review of small bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE). The book reviews the data regarding appropriate indications and contraindications for the implementation of small bowel capsule endoscopy, while discussing in detail the evolving role of SBCE in the treatment of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, and the management of inflammatory bowel disease, small bowel polyposis syndromes, and refractory malabsorption. Topics such as complications of SBCE, methods to perform SBCE on patients with dysphagia or gastric emptying pathology, and understanding the normal anatomy of the gastrointestinal tract when viewed via SBCE are also discussed. In addition, an introduction to colon capsule technology and the next generation of small bowel capsule imaging is reviewed. The text is complemented by several illustrative cases that are demonstrated with both online full length videos as well as an online interactive companion that includes review questions to reinforce concepts learned in the text. Written by experts in the field, Capsule Endoscopy: A Guide to Becoming an Efficient and Effective Reader is an invaluable resource for novice capsule endoscopy readers, fellows in gastroenterology and hepatology, researchers, mid-level providers, residents, and medical students with an interest in learning how to implement and perform SBCE in the investigation of small bowel diseases.