Suspension is what? Cooking method

Suspension is what? The answer to this question will be found in the materials in this article. Also we will tell you about how suspensions are prepared for the treatment of small children.

general information

Suspension is a dry substance that does not dissolve in the liquid in whole or in part. It is distributed in the form of tiny particles. In medicine, such a diluted powder is a drug that is used to treat a particular disease.

Features

Suspension is a coarsely dispersed system having a solid dispersed phase and a liquid dispersion medium. Usually, its particles are so large (more than 10 microns) that they can easily settle under gravity (that is, sediment). Those mixtures in which such a process proceeds extremely slowly (in connection with the small difference in the density of the dispersion medium and the dispersed phase) are called suspensions.

It should be specially noted that in concentrated suspensions disperse structures appear quite easily and quickly. Let's give an example of typical suspensions that are not used in medicine:

• Drilling fluids;
• Enamel paints;
• Cement mortars;
• Pulps, etc.

In addition, such solutions are often used in the production of ceramics.

Suspensions: technology of preparation

At present, there are 2 ways of obtaining suspensions: condensation and dispersion. The latter is based on the grinding of the drug substance with the help of mechanical equipment, ultrasound, etc. It should also be noted that when preparing a suspension in this way, specialists take into account the degree of hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity of the main raw material that is introduced into the suspension.

As for the condensation method, it provides for the replacement of the solvent. Thus, a substance in a solvent premixed with this medium is added to the dispersion medium in which the drug does not dissolve.

The production of medical suspensions under the conditions of production can be carried out in completely different ways, namely:

• Intensive and constant mechanical mixing, which is carried out with the help of high-speed stirrers, as well as rotary-pulsating apparatuses;
• Ultrasonic dispersion using electrostrictive and magnetostrictive radiators;
• Grinding solid raw materials in a liquid medium with the help of colloidal mills;
• Condensation method (most often used in pharmacy production).

Antibiotics in suspension for children

In view of the fact that not every child can take a pill entirely, a large number of medicinal products for children is produced precisely as a suspension.

Ready-to-use suspension is a liquid medicinal mixture that is applied externally, internally and parenterally. When stored, such antibiotic drugs are extremely unstable. That is why before their immediate use, the vials with the contents should be shaken for 1 or 2 minutes.

Advantages of suspensions

Why are antibiotics most frequently administered in suspension for children and what are the advantages of such a dosage form before others? The answer to the question you ask is below:

• Compared with others, such a dosage form is most convenient for the child, as well as those patients who, for any objective reasons, can not swallow capsules or tablets whole.
• Suspensions have a less intense and rich taste than conventional medicinal solutions. Moreover, this form of release allows you to easily adjust the flavor and taste of the drug by adding various syrups and harmless flavors to it. This is the great advantage of a suspension for children. After all, not always a sick child can be made to drink a bitter and tasteless medicine.
• Medicines released in the form of suspensions are more stable than in solution. This fact is especially important during the manufacture of antibiotics.

Disadvantages of suspensions

According to experts, the disadvantages of drug suspensions are the following:

• Physical instability of the preparation, namely: precipitation (or so-called sedimentation), increase and aggregation of particle sizes (i.e., aggregation thereof), liquid and solid phase coupling (i.e., condensation). Such physical phenomena contribute to the ascent or, conversely, the precipitation of the solid phase. At the same time, the principle of uniformity of suspended matter is violated.
• Before direct use, the suspension must be mixed or shaken. This is necessary in order to restore a homogeneous state of the mixture.
• Another drawback of the drug suspension is that it has a relatively short shelf life (about three days).

How to breed?

If you or your child was prescribed a drug suspension for the treatment of a disease, then before applying the powder, it must be properly diluted. For this, water or some other solution prescribed by the doctor is used. Thus, in the dosage syringe should be typed the necessary amount of fluid, and then add it to the bottle with a dry drug substance. Finally, the container should be shaken thoroughly. After that, the suspension can be safely used for its intended purpose.

It should be especially noted that this or that ratio of drug powder and water should be determined only by the treating doctor. After all, each individual drug has its own special concentration.