Key terms
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API)
Any substance in a compounded preparation that confers pharmacological activity
Agglomerations
Clusters, lumps clumps, or globs of ungraded vehicle, which are undesired in compounding
Autoclave
A device that generates heat and pressure to sterilize objects, instruments and measuring vessels and devices.
Beyond Use Date (BUD)
The date after which a drug should not be used once it has been removed from the intact container.
susp
Suspension
Calibrate
To gauge a measuring instrument with a standard scale of reading.
Class III Prescription Balance
A two-pan balance used to weigh material (between 120mg and 120g) with a sensitivity rating of +/- 6mg; also known as a Class A prescription balance.
Comminution
The act of reducing a substances to small, fine particles using particle-reducing techniques like trituration, levigation, and pulverization.
Component
An ingredient in a compounded product.
au
both ears
Compounded Sterile Preparation
A medication prepared with aseptic technique in a sterile, cleanroom facility.
Compounding
The process of preparing a medication for an individual patient from bulk ingredients according to a prescription from a licensed prescriber.
Compounding Record
A printout for a specific patient, including the amounts of weights of all ingredients with national drug code calculations and instructions for compounding; used by the technician to document a compounded medication for a patient.
Diluent
An inactive ingredient that is added to the active drug in compounding a tablet, capsule, solution, or topical formulation.
ou
both eyes
Excipients
Inactive ingredients
Extemporaneous Compounding
Compounding products that are done for a specific patient’s immediate need but not commercially available; another name for nonsterile compounding in a community pharmacy.
Forceps
A stainless steel pincher instrument like a large tweezer used to pick up small objects, such as pharmacy weights.
Geometric Dilution Method
A process that uses a mortar and pestle to gradually combine several active ingredients(drugs) with inactive ingredients (diluent) to produce a more homogeneous product.
ob
right eye
Levigation
A process usually used to reduce the particle size of a solid during the preparation of an ointment.
Meniscus
The moon-shaped or concave appearance of a liquid in a graduated cylinder; used during the volume measurement process, with the center being the accepted level.
Mortar and Pestle
Equipment used for mixing and grinding pharmaceutical ingredients.
Non-Sterile Compounding
The preparation of a medication from several pharmaceutical ingredients in an appropriate quantity and dosage form in response to a prescription written by a physician; sometimes referred to as extemporaneous compounding.
os
left eye