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Pellets are small spherical particles with extremely high hardness and low porosity. Generally, they have a smooth surface, rendering them suitable for coating. The purpose of coating may be a sustained release of the active ingredient from the dosage form or protection against gastric fluids. Generally, coated or uncoated pellets are filled into capsules.
Pellets consist of a binder, being mostly microcrystalline cellulose and a filler, for which lactose is the excipient of first choice, because of its inertness, price and toxicology. To obtain a smooth surface and a low porosity, the particle size of the excipients needs to be as small as possible. Moreover, the size of the pellet obtained is proportional to the particle size of the components. That implies that the particle size distribution of lactose is important for this application, which is why finer sieved lactose products are particularly useful.
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