Designing orodispersible films containing everolimus for enhanced compliance and bioavailability

Orodispersible Films-Current State of the Art, Limitations, Advances and Future Perspectives

Orodispersible Films (ODFs) are drug delivery systems manufactured with a wide range of methods on a big scale or for customized medicines and small-scale pharmacy. Both ODFs and their fabrication methods have certain limitations. Many pharmaceutical companies and academic research centers across the world cooperate in order to cope with these issues and also to find new formulations for a wide array of APIs what could make their work profitable for them and beneficial for patients as well. The number of pending patent applications and granted patents with their innovative approaches makes the progress in the manufacturing of ODFs unquestionable. The number of commercially available ODFs is still growing. However, some of them were discontinued and are no longer available on the markets. This review aims to summarize currently marketed ODFs and those withdrawn from sale and also provides an insight into recently published studies concerning orodispersible films, emphasizing of utilized APIs. The work also highlights the attempts of scientific communities to overcome ODF's manufacturing methods limitations.

Tip-concentrated microneedle patch delivering everolimus for therapy of multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic progressive demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. At present, systemic drug therapy for multiple sclerosis has limited efficacy and serious side effects. Everolimus, as a new generation of mTOR inhibitors, can effectively alleviate the inflammatory reaction of the central nervous system and offers a promising choice for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. However, due to the low oral bioavailability and narrow response window of oral everolimus, a new delivery system is urgently needed to overcome the above problems. In this study, we constructed a tip-concentrated microneedle patch as a transdermal delivery system of everolimus for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Here, the drug was concentrated in the needle tips by the rational design, making it delivered completely into the skin. The therapeutic effect of everolimus-loaded microneedles was evaluated using the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model and further verified with neurological function scores and the histopathological results of the spinal cord. These results indicated that the tip-concentrated microneedle patch provided an effective, safe and simple method for the transdermal delivery of everolimus, thus providing a new treatment for multiple sclerosis.

Orodispersible Membranes from a Modified Coaxial Electrospinning for Fast Dissolution of Diclofenac Sodium

The dissolution of poorly water-soluble drugs has been a longstanding and important issue in pharmaceutics during the past several decades. Nanotechnologies and their products have been broadly investigated for providing novel strategies for resolving this problem. In the present study, a new orodispersible membrane (OM) comprising electrospun nanofibers is developed for the fast dissolution of diclofenac sodium (DS). A modified coaxial electrospinning was implemented for the preparation of membranes, during which an unspinnable solution of sucralose was explored as the sheath working fluid for smoothing the working processes and also adjusting the taste of membranes. SEM and TEM images demonstrated that the OMs were composed of linear nanofibers with core-sheath inner structures. XRD and ATR-FTIR results suggested that DS presented in the OMs in an amorphous state due to the fine compatibility between DS and PVP. In vitro dissolution measurements and simulated artificial tongue experiments verified that the OMs were able to release the loaded DS in a pulsatile manner. The present protocols pave the way for the fast dissolution and fast action of a series of poorly water-soluble active ingredients that are suitable for oral administration.

"Success Depends on Your Backbone"-About the Use of Polymers as Essential Materials Forming Orodispersible Films

Polymers constitute a group of materials having a wide-ranging impact on modern pharmaceutical technology. Polymeric components provide the foundation for the advancement of novel drug delivery platforms, inter alia orodispersible films. Orodispersible films are thin, polymeric scraps intended to dissolve quickly when put on the tongue, allowing them to be easily swallowed without the necessity of drinking water, thus eliminating the risk of choking, which is of great importance in the case of pediatric and geriatric patients. Polymers are essential excipients in designing orodispersible films, as they constitute the backbone of these drug dosage form. The type of polymer is of significant importance in obtaining the formulation of the desired quality. The polymers employed to produce orodispersible films must meet particular requirements due to their oral administration and have to provide adequate surface texture, film thickness, mechanical attributes, tensile and folding strength as well as relevant disintegration time and drug release to obtain the final product characterized by optimal pharmaceutical features. A variety of natural and synthetic polymers currently utilized in manufacturing of orodispersible films might be used alone or in a blend. The goal of the present manuscript was to present a review about polymers utilized in designing oral-dissolving films.