JPS642762Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [] Background of the invention The present invention relates to a seamless encapsulation device.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a seamless capsule device improved to improve filling accuracy.

Encapsulation is well known as a means of isolating various drugs from the outside world (including the oral cavity), one of which is seamless encapsulation.

Seamless encapsulation involves encapsulating the drug to be encapsulated in a liquid state using a capsule coating material (hereinafter referred to as
This is done by coating it with a coating material (sometimes referred to as a coating material). That is, both the drug and the coating material are supplied as liquids to the filling section of the filling device, and during the filling process both liquids are forced through a concentric double tube nozzle into a coagulation bath (usually a cooling bath). That is, when the drug is extruded from the inner tube and the coating material is extruded from the outer tube, an extruded body in which the core material of the drug is encapsulated by the coating material is immediately formed at the tip of the nozzle. Under conventional conditions, this extrudate is cut at the nozzle tip and becomes granular due to interfacial tension. The formed granules reach their final form (before drying) as capsules (ie, seamlessly encapsulated drug) in a coagulation bath.

In this method, the amount of drug loaded, particle size, and other factors as an encapsulating agent are largely influenced by the cutting method of the extrudate at the nozzle tip, so in addition to the effects caused by simple natural dripping, the shear force (Japanese Patent Publication No. 38-13397), by vibration of a nozzle (Japanese Patent Publication No. 36-3700), and by adjusting the flow rate of the coagulation bath or cooling bath to apply cutting force (Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-1989). (No. 8875 and No. 53-1067), by compression waves (Special Publication No. 36-3700)
Other proposals have been made.

These known encapsulation methods use constant flow pumps to deliver the drug and coating material to the nozzle, but do not adjust the amount of drug loaded for each individual capsule particle. Therefore, no matter how much the accuracy of the cutting method is improved, if the physical properties of the coating material (viscosity, surface tension, etc.) change due to changes in temperature, etc., changes in the amount of chemical filling and coating thickness will occur. It is difficult to avoid that. This problem becomes particularly apparent when manufacturing microcapsules.

[] Summary of the invention The purpose of this invention is to provide a solution to the above points, and to achieve this goal by providing a temperature adjustment means in the piping and nozzle for the granulation nozzle of the chemical liquid or (and) coating material liquid. This is what we are trying to achieve.

Therefore, the seamless encapsulation device according to the present invention includes a container for containing the drug to be encapsulated in liquid form, a container for containing the capsule coating material in liquid form, a nozzle consisting of a concentric double tube, and a drug container. A conduit with a constant flow pump for supplying medicine in liquid form from the inside of the concentric double tube into the inner tube of the concentric double tube, and a constant flow pump for supplying the capsule coating material in liquid form from the membrane material container into the outer tube of the concentric double tube. A seamless encapsulation device comprising a pipeline with a flow pump and a granulation device provided downstream of a nozzle, characterized in that at least one of the pipelines and the nozzle is provided with temperature adjustment means. It is something.

According to the present invention, even if there is a change in the outside temperature, the coating material liquid can be hardly affected by the temperature adjustment means, so that the particle size and coating thickness of the produced capsules can be controlled. This eliminates the deviation and improves filling accuracy.

Further, even when the supply of the coating material liquid is stopped, the coating material liquid conduit and nozzle can be heated, so that gelation (solidification) of the coating material in the conduit can be prevented. In addition, by maintaining the pipe line at a higher temperature than the nozzle, it is possible to keep the viscosity of the coating material liquid up to the nozzle low, while also maintaining the temperature of the nozzle where the chemical liquid coexists relatively low, thereby preventing the deterioration of the chemical. . Moreover, by adjusting the temperature of the coating material liquid pipe and nozzle, it is possible to cope with changes in the physical properties of the coating material liquid over time (for example, viscosity, etc.).

[] Detailed description of the invention 1 Structure of the device The device of the present invention is essentially the same as the conventional seamless encapsulation device except that temperature control means are provided in the conduit and the nozzle. Further, it is therefore possible to incorporate improvements seen in the above-mentioned known examples as long as they do not contradict the spirit of the present invention.

A specific example of the device according to the invention is as shown in the drawings.

In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a container that contains the drug to be encapsulated in liquid form. It is designed to be supplied from the container 1 to the inner tube of the nozzle 4. In the device of this specific example, the temperature adjustment means according to the present invention (details will be described later) is provided only in the coating material liquid pipe line, but it goes without saying that the temperature adjustment means can also be provided in this pipe line 2 if necessary. do not have. In addition to such temperature adjustment means, if the drug is not in liquid form at room temperature, it is necessary to heat the container 1 and the conduit to the nozzle 4, or if the drug is sensitive to heat. It would be desirable to cool the container 1 etc. By providing a sealed air chamber in the conduit 2 in communication with this conduit on the downstream side of the pump 3, it is possible to suppress the influence of pulsating flow that a constant flow pump has due to its characteristics. It becomes unnecessary to use a pump 3 with such high precision.

On the other hand, reference numeral 5 denotes a container that contains the coating material in a liquid state, and this container 5 is connected to the outer tube of the nozzle 4 via a pipeline 6 and a constant flow pump 7, so that the coating material is supplied from the container 5 to the nozzle outer tube. The container 5 is placed in a thermostatic bath 8 so that the coating material contained therein is kept in a liquid state.
According to the present invention, temperature adjustment means 101, 10
1' is provided (described in detail later).

The nozzle 4 has a double-tube structure, the length of which is determined as required, and the diameters of the inner and outer tubes at the tip are usually smaller than those at the upstream side. Preferably, the inner tube and outer tube are suitably insulated. The nozzle 4 is provided with a temperature adjustment means 102 according to the present invention (details will be described later).

The granulating device 9 consists of an inner cylinder 10 that accommodates a liquid to coagulate the coating solution (hereinafter referred to as "coagulation liquid") and an outer cylinder 11 that accommodates this inner cylinder.
0 communicates with the inside of the outer cylinder at its upper part,
On the other hand, its lower part communicates with the discharge pipe 12. The tip of the nozzle 4 is provided so as to face the entrance or inside of the inner cylinder 10.

The coagulating liquid flows from the storage tank 13 to the pipe line 14 and the pump 1.
5, it is supplied between the inner and outer cylinders at the lower part of the outer cylinder 11, enters the inner cylinder through the communication part between the inner and outer cylinders at the upper part of the inner cylinder, descends, and circulates through the discharge pipe 12 to the storage tank 13. The pipe line 23 is a cooling bath bypass that communicates the inside of the outer cylinder 11 with the storage tank 13 at the upper part of the outer cylinder 11 .
Between the inner and outer cylinders of the granulator 9 , a cooling pipe 16 is provided in a coil shape surrounding the inner cylinder.
Cooling water 7 flows into the storage tank 17 via a pipe 19 by a pump 18 and is circulated to a storage tank 17 via a pipe 20. Note that the storage tank 17 is usually equipped with a suitable constant temperature device.

21 is a screen for separating the produced capsules discharged from the discharge pipe from the accompanying coagulation bath or medium, and 22 is a capsule recovery tank.

Now, the temperature adjustment means according to the present invention is provided so as to cover the pipe line 6 and the nozzle 4, so that the temperature of the coating material liquid in the pipe line 6 and the nozzle 4 can be adjusted independently from the ambient temperature. be. One specific example of such a temperature regulating means is a heat exchanger consisting of a jacket capable of circulating a heating or cooling medium as shown in the figure, and another specific example is a heating device having an electric wire heater wrapped around it. be.

In the illustrated temperature adjusting means, the pipe line 6 is provided with jackets 101, 101', and the nozzle 4 is also provided with a jacket 102. The insides of the jackets are in communication with each other, and the heating or cooling medium from the storage tank 103 is pumped through the pipe line 10 by a pump 104.
5, 106, 107 and 108. Jacket 101, 101'
Needless to say, and 102 are not connected in series as shown in the figure, but may also be connected in parallel so that the temperature can be adjusted individually.
Storage tank 103 is usually equipped with a suitable constant temperature device. A person skilled in the art will have no difficulty in replacing the illustrated temperature regulating means with an electric heater. In the specific example shown, the temperature adjustment means is provided only on the coating material liquid conduit side, but it goes without saying that it can also be installed in the drug liquid conduit.

In the specific example of the illustrated device, the inner diameter of the inner tube 10 of the granulation device 9 is about 30 to 40 mm, and the inner diameter of the outer tube 11 is about 50 mm.
~70mm, and the length of the inner and outer cylinders is usually about 600~800mm.

2 Operation of the Apparatus The drug liquid in the drug container 1 is sent from the pipe line 2 to the inner pipe of the nozzle 4 by the pump 3.

The drug must be a liquid substance at the encapsulation temperature. The drug may be in the form of a solution.
Furthermore, the term "drug" is not limited to medicine.

On the other hand, the coating material liquid contained in the container 5 is sent to the outer pipe of the nozzle 4 via the pipe line 6 by the pump 7. A typical coating material is an aqueous gelatin solution (concentration of about 15 to 30% by weight), and the temperature of the constant temperature bath 8 in this case is usually about 50 to 70°C.

Temperature adjustment by jackets 101, 101' and 102 is achieved by pumping hot water from storage tank 103 to pump 1.
This is carried out by keeping the temperature of the coating material liquid at the above temperature (approximately 50 to 70°C) by circulating it through pipes 105, 106, 107 and 108 by means of 04.

The chemical liquid sent to the inner tube of the nozzle 4 and the coating material liquid sent to the outer tube are pushed out from the tip,
Naturally, the produced extrudate has a structure in which the core material of the drug is encapsulated with a coating material.

When the extrudate formed at the tip of the nozzle 4 comes into contact with the coagulation bath or medium in the inner cylinder 10 of the granulator 9 , depending on the properties of the extrudate and the flow of the coagulation liquid from the rear of the nozzle toward the tip, It is cut at the tip of the nozzle and becomes granular. The coagulation bath or medium is most commonly a simple cooling bath such as liquid paraffin, but depending on the type of coating material, it may also be one that causes coagulation chemically. When the coating material is an aqueous gelatin solution as described above, the coagulation bath is
Liquid paraffin at a temperature of about °C is preferred. The temperature of the coagulation bath or medium can be adjusted by flowing cooling water from the storage tank 17 through the cooling tube coils 16.

The coagulation bath or medium rises upward between the inner and outer cylinders of the granulating device 9 , enters the inner cylinder from the upper part of the inner cylinder 10, descends inside the inner cylinder, passes through the discharge pipe 12, and enters the storage tank 13.
sent to.

Due to this flow of the coagulation bath or medium, the particles formed at the tip of the nozzle 4 are sent downstream one after another, passing through the discharge pipe 12 and reaching the screen 21 . While descending in the inner cylinder 10, the particles approach a perfect spherical shape and solidify according to the interaction with the coagulation bath or medium and the properties of the coating material, except that they remain undried on the screen 21. is in the same state as the final capsule. Recovery tank 22
The particles collected are removed from the adhering coagulation bath or medium and dried to form the intended capsule.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawing is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a specific example of a seamless encapsulation device according to the present invention. 1... Chemical liquid container, 5... Film material liquid container, 4...
...Nozzle consisting of a double pipe, 9 ...Pelletization device, 1
01, 101', 102...Temperature adjustment jacket.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] 1. A container for containing the drug to be encapsulated in liquid form, a container for containing the capsule coating material in liquid form, a nozzle consisting of a concentric double tube, and a concentric pipe from the drug container. A conduit with a constant flow pump for supplying the drug in liquid form into the inner tube of the double tube, and a constant flow pump for supplying the capsule coating material in liquid form from the coating material container into the outer tube of the concentric double tube. A seamless encapsulation device comprising a pipe line with a duct and a granulation device provided on the downstream side of the nozzle, characterized in that at least one of the pipe lines and the nozzle is provided with a temperature control means. Device. 2. The seamless encapsulation device according to the preceding item, wherein the temperature adjustment means is a heat exchanger or an electric wire heater.