ABSTRACT
Waxes usually contain a wide variety of materials including glycerides, fatty alcohols, fatty acids, and their esters. In the pharmaceutical literature, the terms waxes, fats, or lipids have often been used interchangeably and no consistent terminology has been established. The term wax generally refers to a substance that is a plastic solid at room temperature and a liquid of low viscosity above its melting point. Carnauba wax is plant-derived and is obtained from the carnauba palm tree, indigeneous to Brazil. The wax is obtained from the surface of dried leaves. Droplet size and uniformity are also critical for a successful coating process. The size of the molten droplet is dependent on the viscosity of the melt and the atomization air pressure. During emulsification, the drug will partition into the external aqueous phase until its solubility at the emulsification temperature is reached. The coating with waxes has various advantages when compared to the coating with polymer solutions or dispersions.
