The embodiment of the strategy of 'using active chemicals as excipients' in compound preparation

“Using active chemicals as excipients” refers to a preparation strategy. It makes use of the drugs owning the special physical and chemical properties as the roles of excipients to assist the preparation forming or achieve some specific drug delivery function, especially in the compound preparation. This paper proposed the concept of “using active chemicals as excipients”, expounded the advantages and potentials of “medicine as excipient’s use”, and analyzed the research status of “using active chemicals as excipients” from the aspects of chemical compound preparations and traditional Chinese medicine preparations. We classified the excipient function of drugs in formulations, and expounded the functional principles and characteristics of drugs as excipients from drug physical properties and drug dispersing forms in preparation. This preparation strategy has the advantages of reducing the amount of excipients, improving drugs compliance and reducing production costs. It is an important development direction of modern pharmaceutical preparation research and production. In a word, “using active chemicals as excipients” is a potential preparation strategy, which should be paid attention to and be implemented in the process of preparation research and development.