Masking the Taste of Active Substances in Orally Dispersible Tablets

Abstract

Orally dispersible tablets (ODT) are important for their fast disintegration in mouth as well as for their fast action and high biological availability of the drug. This dosage form is suitable in cases when the tablet swallowing is difficult, either for children or patients with dysphagia or for those who have no access to water. Development of ODT is complicated mainly by masking the unpleasant taste of the drug. It is necessary to keep the critical para­meters of the tablets such as their hardness and fast disintegration. There are many methods of taste masking, but their application is very individual. In some cases the taste correction by with sweeteners and flavors can be sufficient, sometimes it is necessary to choose more sophisticated methods such as tablet coating or chemical modification of the active substance. In recent years, the taste masking using cyclodextrins and ion exchangers has been widely used. However, their use is limited to active substances capable of forming stable complexes with the taste-masking agents. The agents can negatively affect the dissolution profile of the active substance as well as slow down tablet disintegration. In a number of ODT efficient taste masking is achieved by a combination of appropriate physicochemical methods and technologies.