Starch Pellets are pharmaceutical excipient-based spherical multiparticulate pellets manufactured from starch and processed into a controlled pellet form. Starch is a naturally derived carbohydrate excipient used in pharmaceutical formulations, and pelletization provides a convenient spherical format for formulation development, capsule filling and further pellet processing.
Starch is represented by CAS 9005-25-8 and has the polymeric formula (C₆H₁₀O₅)n. Because starch is a natural polymer, its molecular weight is variable rather than a single fixed molecular-weight value.
A current commercial specification for pharmaceutical Starch Pellets describes them as white spherical pellets with a typical 0.30–1.50 mm particle size, 0.40–0.60 g/mL bulk density, 0.60–0.80 g/mL tapped density, ≤5.0% moisture, pH 5.0–7.0, ≤0.5% ash, and compliance with applicable Ph. Eur./USP microbial requirements. These values are commercial reference specifications and should not automatically be presented as SDP's own COA limits.
Starch pellets can provide a useful platform for pharmaceutical excipient applications, including capsule-filling systems, multiparticulate formulations and subsequent coating or layering. The final characteristics depend on the starch source, processing conditions, pellet composition and target particle-size distribution.
Starch Pellets can be considered for:
The physical and chemical characteristics of Starch Pellets depend on the starch source, pelletization process, particle size, moisture control and formulation composition.
A commercial pharmaceutical Starch Pellets specification reports:
These values should be treated as reference values until confirmed against the actual SDP specification.
Starch Pellets can be supplied for pharmaceutical formulation development and bulk manufacturing requirements. Particle size, starch composition, moisture, density, packaging configuration and finished-product acceptance criteria should be confirmed against the applicable SDP product specification and COA.
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | white to off-white crystalline powder |
| Identification | IR & HPLC compliant |
| Assay (HPLC) | 95.0% – 105.0% |
| Loss on Drying | ≤5.0% |
| Residue on Ignition | NMT 0.1% |
| Heavy Metals | NMT 10 ppm |
| pH (1% Solution) | 5.0–7.0 |
| Water Content | ≤5.0% |