Hot melt extrusion: a state of the art and multifunctional technique for oral film formulation

Abstract

Hot melt extrusion (HME) is one of the most extensively studied techniques for pharmaceutical application. Several researchers have been trying to establish this potential method in oral thin film (OTF) formulation and hundreds research articles have been published on this noble approach. OTF is an emerging dosage form in pharmaceutical field and HME is a promising technology in film formulation. HME is advantageous over other methods since it is a one-step method, does not require solvents; it has showed taste masking capability by solid dispersion and has showed improved bioavailability of drugs. Moreover, the scale up process not being problematic it can be employed on commercial scale production. This review has 3 major objectives. Firstly, it gives an overview on oral thin film and HME technology in formulation of thin film. Secondly, it shows the importance of taste masking and HME in taste masking. Lastly, it discusses multi-functionality of HME in combination of other techniques like 3D printing, co-extrusion and nanotechnology.