Best way to compound ointments?

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DrIndy

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I was considering offering compounded ointments at my pharmacy in the near future. What is the best way to mix the ointment? The only device I can find is the unguator. Is this the only option that is safe/sanitary? Thanks!
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SDN Pharm being helpful as usual. /s
An unguator is definitely going to be the most practical, but you can go old school with an ointment slab or disposable ointment compounding pads as well.
 
Anyone ever try using a stand mixer? We ordered one at work to give it a try.

Otherwise we use an ointment slab or just mix the ointments right in the container.
 
Depends on quantity. If you are making 5 kg or less a batch, yeah, something like the ungulator will work (it's a scaled down version of a shear batch mixer which is anywhere between 10 kg and up with the usual amount per batch in the metric tons). If these are ung tube size (< 90g), you might as well just have a slab and an educated tech.

Note, if you do have a shear batch mixer, make sure you sign up for the training on how to use them properly in terms of stress or you'll easily break the motor.
 
Dumb question: could you use a food grade mixer?
 
upload_2018-2-4_18-19-42.jpeg

A nasal wash made for alligators...
 
DrIndy said:
I was considering offering compounded ointments at my pharmacy in the near future. What is the best way to mix the ointment? The only device I can find is the unguator. Is this the only option that is safe/sanitary? Thanks!
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Are you not set up with a compounding wholesaler/organization?

They provide a lot of useful info like your
 
owlegrad said:
I am going to give it a try on Monday, I’ll let you know.
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Can't see why not as planetary mixers are the upscaled version. You'd probably ruin the motor on oil-oil ointments (and commercial use of a food mixer is usually not under warranty except for the designated ones).
 
Dumb question that's related, is Ansel's, Martin's, or Allen's no longer an assigned text for Industrial Pharmacy/Pharmacal Science/Pharmaceutics? I am somewhat surprised that most recent graduate pharmacists do not know how the stuff in their pharmacy is made even at a high-level.
 
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lord999 said:
Dumb question that's related, is Ansel's, Martin's, or Allen's no longer an assigned text for Industrial Pharmacy/Pharmacal Science/Pharmaceutics? I am somewhat surprised that most recent graduate pharmacists do not know how the stuff in their pharmacy is made even at a high-level.
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As recently as for 2017 grads, Ansel was required (2013/2014ish for the pharmaceutics course). At least in my class it was regarded as the throwaway/joke class of the semester as pharmacology and med chem were underway at that time.
 
lord999 said:
Can't see why not as planetary mixers are the upscaled version. You'd probably ruin the motor on oil-oil ointments (and commercial use of a food mixer is usually not under warranty except for the designated ones).
Click to expand...

The package arrived but I didn't have time to set it up as it came pretty late and I was distracted with having a new student. I will target tomorrow to test it out. Mechanistically I can't see why it wouldn't work, but like you said perhaps ointments will be to thick/hard on the motor. The other issue I foresee is the blades getting gunked up and not throughly mixing. I dunno, but I am excited to try it out. For $30 (although since I am not paying I guess that figure is irrelevant to me) I figure it is worth an attempt, especially as I bet Amazon will take it back if I am not happy with it.
 
lord999 said:
Dumb question that's related, is Ansel's, Martin's, or Allen's no longer an assigned text for Industrial Pharmacy/Pharmacal Science/Pharmaceutics? I am somewhat surprised that most recent graduate pharmacists do not know how the stuff in their pharmacy is made even at a high-level.
Click to expand...

We had a few classes that touched on this but hardly anything in-depth. We basically washed some videos of tablets get punched out as I recall.
 
lord999 said:
Dumb question that's related, is Ansel's, Martin's, or Allen's no longer an assigned text for Industrial Pharmacy/Pharmacal Science/Pharmaceutics? I am somewhat surprised that most recent graduate pharmacists do not know how the stuff in their pharmacy is made even at a high-level.
Click to expand...

Yeah, we used Ansel in ‘ceutics lecture and then again in compounding lab.
 
lord999 said:
Dumb question that's related, is Ansel's, Martin's, or Allen's no longer an assigned text for Industrial Pharmacy/Pharmacal Science/Pharmaceutics? I am somewhat surprised that most recent graduate pharmacists do not know how the stuff in their pharmacy is made even at a high-level.
Click to expand...
Yup. I knew plenty of that content in P1. Then I never used any of it for 3 years and I became a pharmacist. I'm sure most of my classmates couldn't have recalled any of it at that point.
 
owlegrad said:
The package arrived but I didn't have time to set it up as it came pretty late and I was distracted with having a new student. I will target tomorrow to test it out. Mechanistically I can't see why it wouldn't work, but like you said perhaps ointments will be to thick/hard on the motor. The other issue I foresee is the blades getting gunked up and not throughly mixing. I dunno, but I am excited to try it out. For $30 (although since I am not paying I guess that figure is irrelevant to me) I figure it is worth an attempt, especially as I bet Amazon will take it back if I am not happy with it.
Click to expand...

That's what I mean, if the motor is not strong enough to give enough shear stress to mix. But for $30, why not, although I'd probably want a 600+ W motor myself for even small jobs.
 
zelman said:
Yup. I knew plenty of that content in P1. Then I never used any of it for 3 years and I became a pharmacist. I'm sure most of my classmates couldn't have recalled any of it at that point.
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But it's like Organic Chem, where although you can't recall anything simple, you should remember enough to know the general outline of things that you know what probably won't work and where you would want to read up the more critical details before attempting, a kind of common sense. That's what I no longer see. The details are not important, but the lack of recognition that there would be a problem here bothers me. In this case, it would be not knowing that the different flows would matter in selecting a mixer; not that you know what the flows actually are immediately, but that you know you have to account for what sort of ingredients and base you're using when thinking about buying and that you'd do your homework based on what you intend to do.
 
How are you going to get all the ointment out from the blades? I can barely get my smoothies out

When I make 500g ung compounds i just use a slab and a lot of spatulating.
 
npage148 said:
How are you going to get all the ointment out from the blades? I can barely get my smoothies out

When I make 500g ung compounds i just use a slab and a lot of spatulating.
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My hope is that ointments are easier to get out than chunks of ice. Although truthfully I foresee properly cleaning to be an issue.
 
I have to do it in secret now though. Because I tell my kids they can't eat raw dough. But I can't resist because I am weak like Ukraine. And also a giant hypocrite who thinks salmonella would simply be a luxury tax to pay for decades of delicious dough eating.
 
spacecowgirl said:
I have to do it in secret now though. Because I tell my kids they can't eat raw dough. But I can't resist because I am weak like Ukraine. And also a giant hypocrite who thinks salmonella would simply be a luxury tax to pay for decades of delicious dough eating.
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Lol “weak like Ukraine”
 
disgonbgud said:
SDN Pharm being helpful as usual. /s
An unguator is definitely going to be the most practical, but you can go old school with an ointment slab or disposable ointment compounding pads as well.
Click to expand...

Use the container and mix. You may have to use a bigger container and then transfer to a smaller one but beats using the ointment slab and all that mess.
 
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