Preparation and Characterization of a Hard Capsule Based on Oxidized Rice Starch and Cellulose Nanocrystals

A hard capsule based on oxidized rice starch (ORS) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) is prepared by a dipping method and the glycerol and carrageenan are used as a plasticizer and gelling agent in the ORS/CNC gel solution, respectively. The viscosity of gel solution that is suitable for film‐forming/capsule‐forming is analyzed. When the content of CNC is 8.0%, the tensile strength of the ORS/CNC composite film is 10.09 MPa and increased by 196.0%. The loss on drying and the disintegration time of the ORS/CNC capsules are also investigated. The ORS/CNC capsules are analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X‐Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results show that the ORS and CNC have good compatibility and good film‐forming ability and can be used as excipients to prepare the hard capsules. A kind of hard capsule based on oxidized rice starch (ORS) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) is prepared and characterized. The ORS and CNC has good compatibility and good film‐forming ability and can be used as excipients to prepare hard capsules.