Question:
A drug is loaded in a polymeric device through a process. Which one of the following ratios defines the drug encapsulation efficiency of this process?
A drug is loaded in a polymeric device through a process. Which one of the following ratios defines the drug encapsulation efficiency of this process?
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Encapsulation efficiency is an output-over-input ratio: what fraction of the drug fed into the process actually ends up trapped in the polymer.
Updated On: Jul 16, 2026
- \(\dfrac{\text{Amount of drug successfully loaded}}{\text{Amount of polymer in the device}}\)
- \(\dfrac{\text{Amount of drug successfully loaded}}{\text{Amount of drug used in the process}}\)
- \(\dfrac{\text{Amount of drug used in the process}}{\text{Amount of drug successfully loaded}}\)
- \(\dfrac{\text{Amount of polymer in the device}}{\text{Amount of drug used in the process}}\)
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The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understand what encapsulation efficiency measures.
When a drug is loaded into a polymeric device (a microsphere, nanoparticle or implant), some of the drug taken into the process gets trapped inside the polymer and some is lost during preparation (washing, diffusion out, degradation).
Encapsulation efficiency (also called entrapment efficiency) tells us what fraction of the drug we started with actually ended up inside the device.
Step 2: Write the defining ratio.
By definition,
\[ \text{Encapsulation efficiency} = \frac{\text{Amount of drug successfully loaded}}{\text{Amount of drug used in the process}} \times 100\% \]
The numerator is the drug that actually stays trapped in the polymer matrix after processing. The denominator is the total amount of drug fed into the process at the start, not just the polymer amount.
Step 3: Eliminate the wrong options.
Option (A) divides by the amount of polymer in the device, which measures the drug-to-polymer loading ratio (drug loading capacity), not encapsulation efficiency.
Option (C) inverts the correct ratio, giving a number always greater than or equal to 1, which has no physical meaning as an "efficiency".
Option (D) mixes polymer amount with drug used, which is not a defined pharmaceutical parameter at all.
Final Answer:
Encapsulation efficiency equals the amount of drug successfully loaded divided by the amount of drug used in the process, which is option (B).
\[ \boxed{\text{Option (B)}} \]
When a drug is loaded into a polymeric device (a microsphere, nanoparticle or implant), some of the drug taken into the process gets trapped inside the polymer and some is lost during preparation (washing, diffusion out, degradation).
Encapsulation efficiency (also called entrapment efficiency) tells us what fraction of the drug we started with actually ended up inside the device.
Step 2: Write the defining ratio.
By definition,
\[ \text{Encapsulation efficiency} = \frac{\text{Amount of drug successfully loaded}}{\text{Amount of drug used in the process}} \times 100\% \]
The numerator is the drug that actually stays trapped in the polymer matrix after processing. The denominator is the total amount of drug fed into the process at the start, not just the polymer amount.
Step 3: Eliminate the wrong options.
Option (A) divides by the amount of polymer in the device, which measures the drug-to-polymer loading ratio (drug loading capacity), not encapsulation efficiency.
Option (C) inverts the correct ratio, giving a number always greater than or equal to 1, which has no physical meaning as an "efficiency".
Option (D) mixes polymer amount with drug used, which is not a defined pharmaceutical parameter at all.
Final Answer:
Encapsulation efficiency equals the amount of drug successfully loaded divided by the amount of drug used in the process, which is option (B).
\[ \boxed{\text{Option (B)}} \]
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