Fast Dissolving Tablets-A Review and Recent Advances in Manufacturing Technologies

Tablet swallowing difficulty primarily affects the geriatric and pediatric populations whereas unpalatable taste of drugs leads to patient noncompliance. To reduce these problems, a new dosage form known as Fast-Dissolving Tablet (FDT), is a tablet that dissolves or disintrigrants in the oral cavity without the need of water or chewing. It has been developed for oral administration, also called as fast-melt, rapimelts, porous tablets,or fast disintegrating or orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs). In April 2007, the FDA issued a draft guidance, Guidance for Industry: Orally Disintegrating Tablets. Fast dissolving tablets can be prepared by various conventional methods like direct compression, wet granulation, moulding, spray drying, freeze drying, Cotton Candy Process and sublimation. In 1986, the first lyophilized fast-dissolving technology Zydis® was introduced (By Cardinal formerly R. P. Scherer) after that there was a continuous growth in names by different companies, now a number of fast-dissolving formulations are in market and the technology is still improving. Present review focuses on the need of FDTs, their advantages and comparative evaluation of latest technologies.