Compendial Dissolution Apparatus

Apparatus Types and Their Applications The United States Pharmacopeia describes several standardised dissolution apparatus configurations, of which the...

Apparatus Types and Their Applications

The United States Pharmacopeia describes several standardised dissolution apparatus configurations, of which the basket apparatus, designated Apparatus One, and the paddle apparatus, designated Apparatus Two, are by far the most widely employed for conventional immediate-release and extended-release solid oral dosage forms. The basket apparatus rotates a cylindrical mesh basket containing the dosage form within the dissolution vessel, and is particularly suited to capsules and dosage forms that tend to float, whereas the paddle apparatus employs a rotating paddle positioned above a dosage form resting at the base of the vessel and is the more commonly used configuration for tablets. Additional apparatus configurations include the reciprocating cylinder, useful for extended-release and chewable formulations, and the flow-through cell, particularly valuable for poorly soluble drugs, suspensions, and implants requiring continuous replenishment of fresh dissolution medium.