Contact
You are here: / / Coating

Pharmaceutical coating

Define your particle properties

Pharmaceutical coating empowers to tailor particle properties with precision. It is a defined process in which particle surfaces are coated and modified to achieve specific functions.

What sets high-performance pharmaceutical coatings apart?

A coating is much more than just an outer layer: it enables the targeted modification of surface properties and is indispensable in modern pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Particle surfaces are coated through spray application and controlled drying. The uniformity, integrity, and thickness of the coating layer are critical, as they influence stability, release profiles, and handling and storage behavior. Depending on product requirements, pharmaceutical coating materials, process parameters, and application methods are precisely coordinated.

Typical purposes of coating in pharmaceutical industry and functional benefits

Coating is a versatile method for modifying properties. The most important purposes of coating in pharmaceutical industry include:

  • Protection against moisture, oxygen, and light

  • Taste masking and improved patient acceptance

  • Controlled, delayed, or sustained release

  • Improved flowability and processability

  • Increased mechanical strength and reduced abrasion

  • Visual enhancement and product differentiation

These properties make pharmaceutical coating indispensable for modern dosage form development.

Matching materials & method – tailored pharmaceutical coating solutions

You define the desired product performance; we select the appropriate coating material and optimal process. The most important selection criteria include:

  • The targeted functionality of the coating layer
  • Particle size, shape, and morphology
  • Process efficiency regarding material usage, time and operator workload

This ensures reproducible, validated and scalable coating processes from development to large‑scale manufacturing.

Types of coatings in the pharmaceutical industry

Depending on the intended purpose, we distinguish between functional coatings, modified-release coatings, taste-masking coatings, protective coatings, and enteric-coated systems.

Material selection for functional performance

Based on the required barrier properties, dissolution profile, or mechanical stability, polymer, lipid, or hybrid systems are selected.

Process control and quality assurance in pharmaceutical coating

Reproducible pharmaceutical coating requires precise and consistent process control. Critical parameters such as spray rate, atomization pressure, product temperature, exhaust air flow, and drying time directly influence film formation and surface morphology. Modern pharmaceutical coating systems rely on controlled formulation execution, automated monitoring, and advanced process analytics. By detecting deviations early on, we ensure robust performance, regulatory compliance, and high coating quality for all types of coatings in the pharmaceutical industry.

Equipment design and system integration – from spray systems to process inserts

Equipment configuration is a key success factor in pharmaceutical coating. Nozzle technology, the geometry of the process chamber, airflow distribution, and the choice of process inserts significantly influence efficiency, drying behavior, and coating uniformity. Wurster’s bottom-spray processes enable precise pharmaceutical coating of pellets and micropellets, while rotor inserts support coating with dry powder and complex multi-particle designs. Drum coaters ensure stable and uniform film formation on tablets, even at high throughput.

An optimized system design minimizes agglomeration, stabilizes particle movement, and enables highly homogeneous films.

Discover our pharmaceutical coating technologies

Glatt offers a comprehensive portfolio of pharmaceutical coating and particle‑finishing systems tailored to your application.

Coating in fluid bed and spouted bed

Ideal for pellets, granules and powders offering highly controlled and uniform layer application.

–> More Information

Drum coating

Established technology for tablets and larger particles with robust, reproducible film quality.

–> More Information