Characterization of the gastrointestinal transit and disintegration behavior of floating and sinking acid-resistant capsules using a novel MRI labeling technique.

The application areas of hard capsules are currently widened by the introduction of acid-resistant capsule shells. In this study, the gastrointestinal behavior of acid-resistant hard capsule formulations as well as the influence of their density on the gastric residence time were characterized using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). As labeling material for a reliable identification of the capsules in the MR images, small pieces of dried pineapple were used as they provide a high T1 signal.