The fourth stage of soft gel manufacturing, soft gelatin encapsulation, is the process of converting gel mass into a thin layer of gelatin and wrapping it around the inner fill material to form a softgel unit dose solid dosage form. Before commencing encapsulation, manufacturers must choose the appropriate softgel encapsulation machines for their chosen soft gel manufacturing projects.
Equipment is thus selected according to the requirements of the capsule manufacturing projects, however, softgel encapsulation machines also have to fulfill additional criterias in order to be selected; (1) Softgel encapsulation machines must conform to GMP standards, (2) Softgel encapsulation machines must have the right features & specifications, (3) Softgel encapsulation machines should be easy to maintain & operate, and (4) the selected technologies should facilitate bioavailability enhancement. After the raw materials have been weighed and prepped, and the appropriate soft gel encapsulation machine has been selected, encapsulation may commence.
Encapsulation is completed in the five steps noted below:
Step 1: The prepared inner fill and outer fill materials are transported to encapsulation bays.
Step 2: Each encapsulation capsule manufacturing machine is segregated into individual bays.
Step 3: Molten gel is pumped into the machines.
Step 4: Two thin ribbons of gel are formed, on either side of the soft gel manufacturing encapsulation machines.
Step 5: The ribbons are passed over a series of rollers and dies that help in determining the size of the capsules.
Following encapsulation, the resultant compounds are tumble dried, cured via supplemental drying, sized, inspected, and finally packaged, after which the soft gel capsules are ready for storage and distribution.