Al Anbar University Physical pharmacy Dr.

Saddam
College of Pharmacy Lecture: 1 & 2
Polymers
. The word polymer means many parts. A polymer is a large molecule made up of
many small repeating units. A monomer is a small molecule that combines with other
molecules of the same or different types to form a polymer.
Polymers are organic substances of high molecular weight made up of repeating
monomer units.
If two, three, four, or five monomers are attached to each other, the product is known
as a dimer, trimer, tetramer, or pentamer, respectively. An oligomer contains from 30
to 100 monomeric units. Products containing more than 200 monomers are simply
called a polymer

polymers cannot exist in the gaseous state because of their high molecular weight.
They exist only as liquids or high solid materials.
Examples of natural polymers are: polysaccharide (monomer is sugar), rubber
(monomer is isoprene), and protein (monomer is amino acid).
Polymer molecules may be linear or branched, and separate linear or branched chains
may be joined by crosslink. Extensive cross-linking leads to a three-dimensional and
often insoluble polymer network. Side chains or substituent (R) may be attached to
the repeating monomer units, as for example in vinylpolymers of the type
H2CCH(R)
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These may have:
1. All the R groups on the same side of the polymer backbone (isotactic)
2. 2. A regular alternation of the R groups above and below the backbone
(syndiotactic)
3. 3. A random arrangement of R groups above and below the backbone (atactic)
(Figure).

Classification of polymers according to backbone structure into:
1. Homochain polymer: all carbon backbone.
2. Hetrochainpolymer: carbon and other elements in backbone.
The melting point of polymers is not as well defined as in low molecular- weight
crystalline solids because of the presence of the poorly structured regions which melt
over a range of temperatures
As well as the melting point the polymer may also exhibit a glass transition
temperature, Tg. below Tg the chains are frozen in position and the polymer is
glassy and brittle; above Tg the chains are mobile and the polymer is tougher and
more flexible.


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Average molecular weight
Small molecules are monodisperse, that is, all molecules of a given pure compound
have the same molecular weight. All sucrose molecules weigh 342.3 g divided by
Avogadros number.
In synthetic polymerization reactions, no two chains grow equally fast or for the same
length of time. The resultant macromolecules are hetrodisperse, that is, they have
different chain lengths and a range of molecular weights, which can be described by
an average molecular weight
Nearly all synthetic polymers and naturally occurring macromolecules possess a
range of molecular weights. The exceptions to this are proteins and natural
polypeptides.
The molecular weight is thus an average molecular weight and depending on the
experimental method used to measure it may be:
1- a number average molecular weight, Mn, (determined by chemical analysis or
osmotic pressure measurement) which, in a mixture containing n1, n2, n3... moles of
polymer with molecular weights M1,
M2, M3..., respectively, is defined by:

2- a weight average molecular weight, Mw (determined by light scattering methods):

where m2, m3...... are the masses of each species.
Remember that the mass, mi, of a particular species is obtained by multiplying the
molecular weight of each species by the number of molecules of that weight; that is,
mi =niMi. Thus the molecular weight appears as the square in the numerator of the
equation for the weight average molecular weight.
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Polymers for Pharmaceutical Applications
In a traditional pharmaceutics area, such as tablet manufacturing, polymers are used
as tablet binders to bind the excipients of the tablet. Modern or advanced
pharmaceutical dosage forms utilize polymers for drug protection, taste masking,
controlled release of a given drug, targeted delivery, increase drug bioavailability.
polymers have found application in liquid dosage forms as rheology modifiers. They
are used to control the viscosity of an aqueous solution or to stabilize suspensions or
even for the granulation step in preparation of solid dosage forms. Major application
of polymers in current pharmaceutical field is for controlled drug release.
In general, the desirable polymer properties in pharmaceutical applications are film
forming (coating), thickening (rheology modifier), gelling (controlled release),
adhesion (binding), pH-dependent solubility (controlled release), solubility in organic
solvents (taste masking), and barrier properties (protection and packaging).
Water-soluble pol ymers used in pharmacy and medicine
Water-soluble (hydrophilic) polymers are widely used in pharmacy, for example as
suspending agents, emulsifiers, binding agents in tablets, thickeners of liquid dosage
forms and in film coating of tablets.
Examples
1- Carboxypolymethylene (Carbomer, Carbopol)
2- Cellulose derivatives (Methylcellulose, Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose)
3- Natural gums and mucilages (Gum Arabic, Gum tragacanth)
4- Pectin
5- Chitosan
Water-insoluble pol ymers
Water-insoluble polymers play an important role in pharmacy and are used in the
fabrication of membranes, containers, packaging material, and tubing.
Important properties of hydrophobic polymers which affect their suitability for use in
pharmacy are their permeability to drugs and gases and their tendency to adsorb
drugs.


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Examples:
Shellac, zein, cellulose acetate phthalate, glyceryl stearates, cellulose acetate
phthalate, and a range of anionic and cationic polymers such as the Eudragit
polymers.
Cellulose-Based Polymers
USES
Ethyl cellulose Insoluble but dispersible in water,
aqueous coating system for sustained
release
Carboxymethyl cellulose ( CMC) Superdisintegrant, emulsion stabilizer
Hydroxyethyl and hydroxypropyl
celluloses (HPC)
Soluble in water and in alcohol, tablet
coating
Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) Binder for tablet matrix and tablet
coating,gelatin alternative as capsule
material
Hydrocolloids

Chitosan Cosmetics and controlled drug delivery
applications, mucoadhesive dosage
forms,rapid release dosage forms
Hyaluronic acid Reduction of scar tissue, cosmetics
Alginic acid Oral and topical pharmaceutical products;
thickening and suspending agent in a
variety of pastes, creams, and gels, as
well as a stabilizing agent for oil-in-water
emulsions;binder and disintegrant
Starch-Based Polymers


Starch Glidant, a diluent in tablets and capsules,
adisintegrant in tablets and capsules, a
tablet binder
Sodium starch glycolate Superdisintegrant for tablets and capsules
in oral delivery
Cellulose structure.

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