PHYSICAL PHARMACY

Module 1
INTRODUCTION
 Objectives: At the
completion of the module, the
student shall be able to:
Understand the basic tools required to
analyze an interpret data sets from the
clinic, lab, or literature
Describe the diff bet classic dosage
forms and modern drug delivery systems
Use dimensional analysis
Understand and apply the
concept of significant figures
Define determinant and in
determinant errors, precision and
accuracy
 physical pharmacy was
associated with the area of
pharmacy that dealt with the
quantitative and theoretical
principles of science as they
applied to the practice of
pharmacy.
It attempted to integrate the
factual knowledge of pharmacy
through the development of broad
principles of its own, and it aided
the pharmacist and the
pharmaceutical scientist in their
attempt to predict the solubility,
stability, compatibility, and
biologic action of drug products.
 presently, the field of pharmacy
has become highly integrated into the
biomedical aspects of the practice of
pharmacy.
 the field is more broadly known
today as pharmaceutical sciences.
 drug delivery focused nearly
exclusively on pharmaceutical
technology - manufacture and
testing of tablets, capsules, creams,
ointments, solutions, etc.*** but not
enough, since knowledge on how
these drugs respond to the normal
pathophysiologic states of the patient
 dosage form – the entity administered
to patients so they receive an effective
dose of the drug, ex. Tablet, Osmotic
Pump Delivery System

 The goal of the pharmaceutical

scientist also remains the same – to
develop new drugs and delivery systems
and to improve upon the various modes
of administration.
 Measurements, data, propagation of
uncertainty

“As mathematics is the language of

science, statistics is the logic of
science.”
Math and stat are fundamental tools of
the pharmaceutical sciences.
Understanding a concept is important,
how and when to use these concepts,
how to interpret what they tell us.
3 fundamental dimensions length,
mass, and time, with a definite unit
and a reference standard.

Reference standard: a fundamental

unit relating each measurable quantity
to some natural or artificial constant in
the universe
A. DIMENSIONS AND UNITS

Table 1-1. FUNDAMENTAL DIMENSIONS AND UNITS

Dimension Dimensional CGS Unit SI Unit ** Reference

(measurable Symbol (Metric* Standard
quantity) System)
Length (l) L Centimeter Meter (m) Meter
(cm)
Mass (m) M Gram (g) Kilogram Kilogram
(kg)
Time (t) T Second (sec) Second (s) Atomic
Frequency of
Cesium -133
 Definition of Dimensions
Length and Area – measure of
distance which has the meter .
Volume – also derived from length, it
is a measurable quantity whose ref std
is the cubic meter; it was originally
defined in terms of the liter (volume of
1 kilogram of water at 1 atmosphere
pressure at 4°C, equivalent to 1000
cm³).
Mass – measure of the weight of a
body, ref standard is the kilogram.

Density and Specific Gravity – used in

interconverting between mass and
volume. It is a derived quantity since it
combines the units of mass and
volume (D = mass per unit volume at
STP) expressed in the cgs system in
g/cm³ and kg/m³ in SI units.
Specific Gravity is the ratio of the
mass of a subs to the mass of an
equal volume of water at 25°C or at
some other specified temperature.
 Definitions. . .
Force – the push or pull required to set a
body in motion; the larger the mass of the
body and the greater the required
acceleration, the greater the force that one
must exert. Force is directly proportional
to the mass (when acceleration is
constant) and to acceleration (when mass
is constant) : force ~ mass x acceleration
; f=kxmxa
Definitions. . . (cont)

Pressure – force per unit area;

unit is the dyne/cm², also given in
atmospheres (atm) or in
centimeters or millimeters of
mercury (Hg)
Work and Energy
◦ energy is the condition of a body that
gives it the capacity to do work;
kinetic or potential. The mechanical
equivalent of energy is work and the
thermal equivalent of energy or heat.
Temperature – assigned unit is
the degree; (T) is a measure of
how hot or how cold an object is
relative to another substance or
object.
Temperature is related to the direction
of that energy flow, so that when 2
objects touch at different temperatures,
energy flows from the one with the
higher temp to the one with the lower
temp.
◦ Heat is the energy that flows
between objects that are at different
temperatures.
Ex. Holding ice in your hands.
◦ Heat flows from your hand TO the
ice.
 Take a refreshing cold drink
◦ heat is transferred to the cold drink,
so you feel refreshed.
Temperature

TEMPERATURE CONVERSION

 ºC = 5/9 (º F – 32)
OR (º F – 32) / 1.8
 º F = 9/5 º C + 32
OR 32 + (1.8 X ºC)
 ºK = º C + 273

ºF -- ºK
convert first ºF to ºC then to ºK
Other Terms
Conversion Factor: The ratio of
like-dimensioned quantities and is
equal to the dimensionless unit, i.e., it
is equal to 1
Significant Figure: any digit used
to represent a magnitude or a quantity
in the place in which it stands.
Dimensional Analysis
Factor-label method or
Unit factor method (“bullet-train
method”)
A problem-solving method that uses
the fact that any number or expression
can be multiplied by 1 without
changing its value.
Useful for any value that has a “unit
of measure” associated with it, to
convert the units of one item to the
units of another item.
Example: if 2.2 kg = 1 lb, divide
both sides by ‘1 lb’, resulting in 2.2
kg/1 lb = 1
Example 1: How many seconds are there in
1 year?
Conversion factors:
365 days = 1 year 60 min = 1 hr
24 hr = 1 day 60 sec = 1 min
Example 2: How many calories are there in
3.00 joules? (1 cal = 4.184 joules)
Example 3: How many gallons are
equivalent to 2.0 liters? (1 pint = 473 mL; 1
gal = 8 pints)
Significant Figure

All nonzero digits are considered

significant, Ex. : 98.513 has 5 SF
Leading zeros are NOT
significant, Ex.: 0.00361 has 3 SF
Trailing zeros in a number
containing a decimal point are
significant, Ex.: 998.100 has 6 SF
The significance of trailing zeros
in a number NOT containing a
decimal point can be ambiguous,
Ex.: 11,000 has 2 SF while
11,000. has 5 SF

Zeros appearing anywhere

between two nonzero digits are
significant, Ex.: 607,132 has 6 SF
 Examples
How many SF are in 0.00750?
How many SF are in 7500?
• How many SF in 7.500 x 10³?
• How many SF in 7500.?
• How many SF in 75.00 x 10-³?
Rules in Rounding Off
1. In rejecting superfluous figures, increase by
1 the last figure retained if the following
figure rejected is 5 or greater. Do not alter
the last figure if the rejected figure is less
than 5.
2. Ex.: when rounded off to 4 SF
1. 13.2764 = 13.28;
2. 13.2744 = 13.27
3. In addition or subtraction, include only as
many figures to the right of the decimal point
as there are present in the number with least
number. Ex.: 442.78 + 58.4 + 2.684 = 503.9
3. In multiplication or division, retain
the same number of SF in the result as
with the least number of SF. Ex.: 2.67
x 3.2 = 8.5
4. If the result is to be used in further
calculations, retain at least 1 digit
more than suggested in the rules, then
round off to the last SF the final
answer.
Common SI – English Equivalent Quantities
TABLE 1 - 2

Quantity SI SI Equivalents English English to SI

Equivalents Equivalent
Length 1 km 1000 (10³) m 0.6214 mi 1 mi = 1.609 km
1m 100 (10²) m 1.094 yd 1 yd = 0.9144 m
1000 mm 39.37 in 1 ft = 0.3048 m
1 cm 0.01 (10⁻²) m 0.3937 in 1 in = 2.54 cm
Mass 1 kg 1000 g 2.205 lbs 1 lb = 0.4536 kg
1g 1000 mg 0.03527 oz 1 oz = 28.35 g
Volume 1 m³ 1,000,000 (10⁶) cm³ 35.31 ft³ 1 ft³ = 0.02832 m³
1 dm³ 1000 cm³ 0.2642 gal 1 gal = 3.785 dm³
1.057 qt = 1 L 1 qt = 0.9464 dm³
*1 L = 1 dm³ 1 qt = 946.4 cm³
= 10⁻³ m³ = 946.4 mL
1 cm³ 0.001 dm³ 0.03381 fl oz 1 fl oz = 29.57 cm³

1 mL = 1 cm³ = 10⁻³ dm³ = 10⁻³ L = 10 ⁻⁶ m ³

Common Decimal Prefixes Used with SI Units
(FRACTIONS AND MULTIPLES OF UNITS)
Table 1-3

MULTIPLE PREFIX PREFIX WORD CONVENTIONAL

(or Exponential SYMBOL NOTATION
Notation)
1 x 10 12 tera T Trillion 1,000,000,000,000

1 x 10 9 giga G Billion 1,000,000,000

1 x 10 6 mega M Million 1,000,000

1 x 10 3 kilo k Thousand 1,000 ****

1 x 10 – 3 milli m Thousandth 0.001

1 x 10 - 6 micro µ Millionth 0.000001

1 x 10 – 9 nano n Billionth 0.000000001

1 x 10 -12 pico p Trillionth 0.000000000001

STATISTICAL METHODS AND
THE ANALYSIS OF ERRORS

• Error may be defined as a

deviation from the absolute value
or from the true average of large
number of results. Two types of
error are recognized: determinate
and indeterminate
• Determinate (or constant) errors
– often unsuspected but can be
avoided or determined and
corrected once uncovered.
• Usually present in measurements
and affect all observations of a
series.
• Ex.: errors in calibration and operation
of measuring instruments; impurities in
reagents and drugs; biased personal
errors that recur due to wrong reading
of a meniscus; pouring and mixing;
weighing operations matching colors;
making calculations. Change of
volume of a solutions with temperature,
even if not constant, is a systematic
error and can be determined
• To avoid determinate errors,
work carefully and calibrate
weights and other apparatus
and check with other workers.
Indeterminate (random or
accidental)errors–
◦ occur by accident or chance, and vary
from one measurement to the next.
 When one fires a number of bullets at a
target, some may hit the bull’s eye,
whereas others will be scattered around
this central point. The greater the skill of
the marksman, the less scattered will be
the pattern on the target.
Likewise, in a chemical analysis,
the results of a series of tests will
yield a random pattern around an
average or central value, known as
the mean.
Ex.: Random errors will occur in
filling a number of capsules with the
drug, and the finished products will
show definite variation in weight.
 PRECISION AND ACCURACY
Indeterminate or
chance errors
A. PRECISION – a measure of the
agreement among the values in a influence the
group of data precision of the
B. Accuracy - is the agreement of the results, and the
data and the true value
data
measurement of the
true value precision is
A B accomplished best by
statistical means.

Determinate or
constant errors affect
the accuracy of data.
Accuracy indicates proximity of
measurement results to the true value,
precision to the repeatability or
reproducibility of the measurement

A measurement system can be accurate

but not precise, precise but not accurate,
neither, or both.
Some facts
In the fields of science, engineering, industry
and statistics, the accuracy[of a measurement
system is the degree of closeness of
measurements of a quantity to that quantity's
actual (true) value. The precision of a
measurement system, also called
reproducibility or repeatability, is the degree
to which repeated measurements under
unchanged conditions show the same results.
example
if an experiment contains a systematic
error, then increasing the sample size
generally increases precision but does
not improve accuracy.
◦ The end result would be a consistent
yet inaccurate string of results from the
flawed experiment. Eliminating the
systematic error improves accuracy but
does not change precision.
A measurement system is designated
valid if it is both accurate and precise.
◦ Related terms include bias (non-
random or directed effects caused by
a factor or factors unrelated to the
independent variable)
◦ and error (random variability).
The terminology is also applied to
indirect measurements--that is, values
obtained by a computational procedure
from observed data.
High accuracy, but low precision High precision, but low accuracy
A. Discuss the following
instruments used in determining
specific gravity:

a.Pycnometer
b.Mohr-Westphal balance
c.Hydrometer
References
• Sinko, Patrick, Martin’s Physical
Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical
Sciences, 6th edition.
(Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams
and Wilkins,2006)
• Martin, Alfred, Pilar Bustamante &
A. H. C. Chun. Physical Pharmacy
4th edition, Philadelphia: Lee and
Febiger, 1993.
Lecture assessment:
What are the 3 fundamental dimensions?
How many SF are in 0.0056050?
How many SF are in 356700?
◦ This is ambiguous and only indicates
the magnitude of the number. HINT:
express the SF in this value by using
exponential notation.
How many SF in 5.500 x 10³?
How many SF in 3600.?