ORODISPERSIBLE TABLETS:AN OVERVIEW

Oral route is presently the gold standard in the pharmaceutical industry where it is regarded as the safest, most economical and most convenient method of drug delivery resulting in highest patient compliance. Oral delivery of active ingredients include a number of technologies, many of which may be classified as

Orodispersible tablets (ODTs). Usually, elderly people experience difficulty in swallowing the conventional dosage forms like tablets, capsules, solutions and suspensions because of tremors of extremities and dysphagia. In some cases such as motion sickness, sudden episodes of allergic attack or coughing, and an unavailability of water, swallowing conventional tablets may be difficult.ODTs systems may offer a solution for these problems. Advancements in the technology arena for manufacturing these systems includes the use of freeze drying, cotton candy, melt extrusion, sublimation, direct compression besides the classical wet granulation processes. This has encnouraged both academia and industry to generate new orally disintegrating formulations and technological approaches in this field. This article attempts at discussing the ideal characteristics, advantages and disadvantages, formulation aspects, formulation technologies and future potential of ODTs.

Keywords:  Formulation technologies, Orodispersible tablets, Superdisintegrant.