COURSE NAME: MATH APPLICATIONS
Course Code:
Course level: Year I, Semester II
Reducing and Enlarging Formulas
Course instructor: Samba Silvano Twinomujuni
[email protected] +256 702446119/+256 776528077
Upon successful completion of this chapter, the student will be
able to:
Perform calculations to reduce or enlarge formulas for
pharmaceutical preparations stated in metric quantities.
Perform calculations to reduce or enlarge formulas for
pharmaceutical preparations stated in proportional parts.
Pharmacists may have to reduce or enlarge formulas for
pharmaceutical preparations in the course of their professional
practice or manufacturing activities:
Official (Pharmacopeias) formulas generally are based on
the preparation of 1000 mL or 1000 g.
Other formulas, as those found in the literature, may be
based on the preparation of a dosage unit (e.g., 5 mL, 1 c
apsule) or another quantity (e.g., 100 mL).
Industrial formulas may be scaled up to quantities of
ingredients sufficient to prepare hundreds of thousands of
dosage units in a production batch.
In each of these instances, a pharmacist may calculate the
quantities of each ingredient required for a smaller or
greater quantity by reducing or enlarging the specified
formula, while maintaining the correct proportion of one
ingredient to the other.
Calculations to reduce or enlarge formulas may be performed by
a two-step process:
Step 1: Using the following equation, determine the factor that
defines the multiple or the decimal fraction of the amount of
formula to be prepared:
Quantity of the formula desired = factor
Quantity of the formula given
Step 2: Multiply the quantity of each ingredient in the formula
by the factor to determine the amount of each ingredient
required in the reduced or enlarged formula.
Example: If a formula for 1000 mL contains 6 g of a drug, how
many grams of drug are needed to prepare 60 mL of the
formula?
Step 1: 60 mL = 0.06 (factor)
1000 mL
Step 2: 6 g x 0.06 = 0.36 g, answer.
Example: From the following formula, calculate the quantity of
each ingredient required to make 240 mL of calamine lotion.
Calamine 80 g
Zinc Oxide 80 g
Glycerin 20 g
Bentonite Magma 250 mL
Calcium Hydroxide Topical Solution, to make 1000 mL
240 mL = 0.24 (Factor)
1000 mL
Using the factor 0.24, the quantity of each
ingredient is calculated as follows:
Calamine = 80g x 0.24 = 19.2 g
Zinc Oxide = 80g x 0.24 = 19.2 g
Glycerin = 20g x 0.24 = 4.8 g
Bentonite Magma = 250 mL x 0.24 = 60 mL
Calcium Hydroxide Topical Solution, to make 240
mL, answers.
Example: From the following formula for artificial tears,
calculate the quantity of each ingredient required to prepare a
dozen 30-mL containers.
Polyvinyl Alcohol 1.4 g
Povidone 0.6 g
Chlorobutanol 0.5 g
Sterile Sodium Chloride Solution, 9% ad 100 mL
30 mL x 12 = 360 mL
360 mL = 3.6 (Factor)
100 mL
.
Using the factor 3.6, the quantity of each ingredient
is calculated as follows:
Polyvinyl Alcohol = 1.4 g x 3.6 = 5.04 g
Povidone = 0.6 g x 3.6 = 2.16 g
Chlorobutanol = 0.5 g x 3.6 = 1.8 g
Sterile Sodium Chloride Solution, 9% ad 360 mL,
answers.
Formulas That Specify Proportional Parts
On a rare occasion, a pharmacist may encounter an old formula
that indicates the ingredients in ‘‘parts’’ rather than in measures
of weight or volume. The parts indicate the relative proportion
of each of the ingredients in the formula by either weight or
volume, but not both. A formula for solid or semisolid
ingredients, therefore, may be considered in terms of grams,
whereas a formula of liquids may be considered in terms of
milliliters.
Example: From the following formula, calculate the quantity of
each ingredient required to make 1000 g of the ointment.
Coal Tar 5 parts
Zinc Oxide 10 parts
Hydrophilic Ointment 50 parts
Total number of parts (by weight) = 65
1000 g will contain 65 parts
65 (parts) = 1000 (g)
5 (parts) x (g)
x = 76.92 g of Coal Tar,
65 (parts) = 1000 (g)
10 (parts) y (g)
y = 153.85 g of Zinc Oxide,
65 (parts) = 1000 (g)
5 0 (parts) z (g)
z = 769.23 g of hydrophilic ointment, answers.
(Check total: 1000 g)
Summery
Pharmaceutical formulas are combinations of ingredients,
each present in a specified amount.
The quantitative relationship between ingredients is fixed;
that is, irrespective of the total quantity of formula
prepared, the relative amount of one ingredient to another
remains the same.
Formulas may be reduced or enlarged through the use of a
factor generated by the following equation and applied
consistently to each ingredient.
Quantity of formula desired = Factor
Quantity of formula given
The quantity of each ingredient in a formula is multiplied
by the factor to determine the quantity needed in a reduced
or enlarged formula.
