Difference Between Dissolution and Disintegration | Pharma Knowledge By SD

Dissolution and disintegration are the two common processes mainly used in pharmaceutical and chemical industries to break the intermolecular and intra-molecular forces that hold substances together. This attempt is done for quality purposes to improve the solubility and bioavailability of, for instance, pharmaceutical drugs into the blood stream. The article discerns the confusion of the difference between these closely related processes.

What is disintegration?

To disintegrate a substance involves breaking it into small chunks, particles and molecules. Disintegration is a process with which substances are broken down into tiny fragments to improve their solubility. Compounds are disintegrated in chemical reactions. At times the process of disintegration can integrate with dissolution where a solid substance disintegrates into small pieces while dissolving in a solvent until it forms a uniform solution of the solute and the solvent.

In the pharmaceutical industry, there is a disintegration test undertaken on drugs to make them ready for absorption into the blood stream. For any dosage to be absorbed by the body, it has to be in a solution. The disintegration process breaks down the drug into tiny fragments or granules to improve its solubility. Disintegration time is the time needed for the drug to break into fragments under certain conditions. Some disintegration tests are done with simulated gastric or intestinal fluid to see how the dosages will perform when ingested.

What is dissolution?

This is the process through which solid, gaseous or liquid substances dissolve in a solvent to produce a solution. However, for the substances to dissolve in a solvent, both the solute and the solvent must be compatible. For instance, a polar substance may not dissolve in a non-polar solvent. Amongst other solvents, water is the universal solvent that is good in dissolving many substances. Gas solvents can only dissolve gas solutes.

The solution formed by dissolution process is often a uniform one. There are factors that can expedite the dissolution and these include the temperature. Dissolution is a kinetic process, so the kinetic energy resulting from increased temperature will speed up the process of dissolving a solute in a solvent. The intermolecular forces of the solute will be broken with ease. If the solute and the solvent can absorb the visible light, the solution yielded can have color.