Optimizing Film Dosage Forms for Buccal Delivery

Film dosage forms, a thin-film oral administration, are used for rapid delivery of medication and dissolve in the mouth through the buccal membrane into the patient’s bloodstream. Film dosage forms are superior to their alternatives; they dissolve in under 90 seconds in patients’ mouths without swallowing, unlike liquid dosages, and avoid possible muscle and skin injuries caused by injections. Though present in today’s medicinal market, including Benadryl, film dosage forms are not widely used. They will not work with drugs that are meant to be slowly administered overtime, or whose molecules are too large to pass through the pores of the buccal membrane. This research aims to engineer a double-layered film dosage form comprised of a mucoadhesive layer and a backing layer. Films were prepared using different types biodegradable polymers. Kollidon 90F was selected for the mucoadhesive layer due to its exceptional solubility. The backing layer was made using hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), commonly used in other double-layered films. Films were dyed with food coloring to make them visible during solubility tests, which were performed with 50% artificial saliva solution on a stirring device. Disintegration tests were performed in triplicate to yield average dissolution time. Results show the films made with Kollidon 90F have an average disintegration time of 0:49.85, whereas the HPMC films were found to have an average disintegration time of 1:43.01. Stability tests are ongoing and adhesion of the monofilm components to one another is currently being investigated.