Fast Dissolving Oral Films: An Innovative Drug Delivery System

The oral route is most popular route for the administration of therapeutic agents because of the low cost of therapy and ease of administration lead to high levels of patient compliance. The most popular oral solid dosage forms are tablets and capsules. Many patients find it difficult to swallow tablets and hard gelatin capsules particularly pediatric and geriatric patients and do not take their medicines as prescribed. Difficulty in swallowing or dysphasia is seen to afflict nearly 35 % of the general population. In some cases such as motion sickness, sudden episode of allergic attack or coughing, fear of choking and an unavailability of water, the swallowing of tablet or capsules may become difficult. To overcome these difficulties, several fast-dissolving drug delivery systems have been developed. Oral fast dissolving film is relatively a new dosage form in which thin film is prepared using hydrophilic polymers, which rapidly dissolves on tongue or buccal cavity. The film overcomes the danger/fear of choking. An ideal film should have the properties like pleasant taste, high stability, ease of handling and administration, no water necessary for application.