Soft gelatin capsules II: Oxygen permeability study of capsule shells

A method is reported for studying the effects of several factors at room temperature on the oxygen permeability of soft gelatin capsule shell films. The method involves the use of a permeability cell assembly and the spectrophotometric determïnation of oxygen with an alkaline pyrogallic acid solution. Factors investigated were relative humidity, plasticizers, equilibrium water, an insoluble additive, and film thickness. Results from the effects of film thickness and oxygen partial pressure correlated well with the permeability equation. For greatest stability of encapsulated oxygen-labile materials, it is recommended that the soft gelatin capsule shells be prepared with a low plasticizer concentration and that the finished capsules be stored at low relative humidity.