ABSTRACT
The present chapter deals with calculations involving oral liquid dosage forms including homogenous systems such as syrups and elixirs, and heterogenous systems such as suspensions.
Syrups are oral preparations in which the vehicle is a concentrated aqueous solution of sucrose or other sugar or sugar-substitute with or without added medicinal substances and flavoring agents. Syrups are used as pleasant-tasting vehicles for disagreeable tasting drugs to be added later. Syrups, in addition to purified water and any drug substance(s), contain a sugar, antimicrobial preservatives, colorants, and flavorants. The sugar content may vary from 60 to 85%. For example, Syrup, USP (also referred to as ‘‘simple syrup’’) contains 85 g of sucrose per 100 mL of syrup, and it has a specific gravity of about 1.313. Simple syrup is resistant to microbial growth, due to the unavailability of the water required for the growth of microorganisms, and, therefore, contains no preservative.
