Drug Product Quality Tests and Performance Tests for Oral Dosage Form

Oral drug products fall into two main categories: solids and liquids. Solid oral drug products include but are not restricted to capsules, tablets, granules, and powders. Similarly, liquid oral drug products include but are not restricted to solutions, suspensions, and emulsions.

Drug Product Quality Test

Drug product quality tests for oral drug products fall into two categories: (1) universal tests that are applicable to all oral drug products and should be included in the monograph, and (2) specific tests should be considered for inclusion for specific types of oral products.

Universal Tests

  • Description
  • Identification
  • Assay
  • Impurities

Specific Tests for Tablets

  • Volatile Content
  • Disintegration
  • Tablet Friability
  • Tablet Breaking Force (Hardness)
  • Uniformity of Dosage Units

Specific Tests for Capsules

  • Volatile Content
  • Disintegration

Specific Tests for Granules

  • Volatile Content
  • Disintegration

Specific Tests for Powders

  • Minimum Fill
  • Volatile Content
  • pH
  • Microbial limits

Specific Tests for Liquids

  • Deliverable Volume
  • Alcohol Determination
  • pH
  • Microbial Content
  • Antioxidant
  • Extractables

Drug Product Performance Test

Drug product performance tests assess product performance, which is a specific quality attribute typically linked to bioavailability and bioequivalence studies. It’s designed to assess in vitro drug release from dosage forms (e.g., Dissolution). For liquid oral drug products in solution, performance is considered optimal, and a monograph performance test is not included.

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Reference: USP General Chapter <2>

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