FAST DISSOLVING TABLETS: A NOVEL APPROACH TO ENHANCE THE BIOAVAILABILITY OF POORLY SOLUBLE DRUGS

*R. Santosh Kumar and V. Gautham Kumar

ABSTRACT

Fast disintegrating tablets (FDTs) have received ever-increasing demand during the last decade, and the field has become a rapidly growing area in the pharmaceutical industry. Oral drug delivery remains the preferred route for administration of various drugs. Recent developments in the technology have prompted scientists to develop FDTs with improved patient compliance and convenience. Upon introduction into the mouth, these tablets dissolve or disintegrate in the mouth in the absence of additional water for easy administration of active pharmaceutical ingredients. The popularity and usefulness of the formulation resulted in development of several FDT technologies. FDTs are solid unit dosage forms, which disintegrate or dissolve rapidly in the mouth without chewing and water. FDTs or orally disintegrating tablets provide an advantage particularly for pediatric and geriatric populations who have difficulty in swallowing conventional tablets and capsules. This review describes various ideal properties, characteristics, challenges in formulation, suitability of drug candidates, various technologies developed for FDT, patented technologies, evaluation methods and various marketed products.

Keywords: Fast dissolving tablets, Oral route, Excipients, Superdisintegrants.