Current knowledge of orally dispersible formulations
Providing easily adjustable dosage forms for use in children can be challenging. Liquid formulations may have issues relating to taste, stability and the use of unacceptable excipients (the additional components that make up medicines) for children. Another method used is to crush tablets and mix these with foods or drinks, but again, there may be problems with stability, solubility, and acceptability by the child, and providing an accurate dose can be difficult.
This review article provides a summary of different orally dispersible (oral medicines which dissolve in the mouth) forms that are currently being developed to address dosing problems in children. Orodispersible granules, tablets, mini-tablets, freeze-dried tablets (lyophilisates) and films are discussed. Disadvantages of some of the orodispersible dosage forms are mentioned, such as problems with poor water solubility of certain orodispersible tablets. These issues may be overcome by using nanotechnology to make the particle size even smaller.
The article also points out that mini ODTs have additional benefits due to their size. With mini ODTs, the possibility to administer multiple units at a time allows for precise and flexible-dose control, without the need for manipulation (e.g. crushing), which is particularly advantageous when giving medicines to young children.
Cornilă, A., et al., (2022). Orally dispersible dosage forms for paediatric use: Current knowledge and development of nanostructure-based formulations. Pharmaceutics. Vol 14(8):1621. Available from: DOI:10.3390/pharmaceutics14081621.
INT-NON-24-0002 Date Created: January 2024