Gupta

A recent advance in Novel Drug Delivery System (NDDS) aims to enhance safety and efficacy of drug molecule by formulating a convenient dosage form for administration and to achieve better patient compliance. Mouth dissolving tablets or fast dissolving tablets have received ever-increasing demand during the last decade, and the field have been rapidly growing in  the pharmaceutical industry and gaining popularity due to ease of administration  and better patient compliance to all age groups. MDDDS have the unique property of dissolving and/or rapidly disintegrating and releasing the drug as soon as they come in contact with saliva, thus obviating the requirement of water during administration. This review focusses on various formulations and also technologies developed to achieve fast dissolution/dispersion of tablets in the oral cavity. The target population for these new fast dissolving/ disintegrating dosage forms have generally been pediatric, geriatric, and bedridden or developmentally disabled patients. Patients with persistent nausea, who are in traveling, or who have little or no access to water are also good candidates for MDDTs.

Oral delivery is at this time the gold standard in the drug manufacturing where it is considered as the safest, most convenient and greatest economical method of drug delivery. One such problem can be solved in the novel drug delivery system by formulating “mouth dissolving tablets” (MDTs) which disintegrates or dissolves rapidly without water within few seconds in the mouth due to the action of superdisintegrant or maximizing pore structure in the formulation. Some tablets are designed to dissolve in saliva remarkably fast, within a few seconds, and are true fast-dissolving tablets. Others contain agents to enhance the rate of tablet disintegration in the oral cavity, and are more appropriately termed fast-disintegrating tablets, as they may take up to a minute to completely disintegrate. Mouth dissolving tablets are solid dosage forms containing drugs that disintegrate in the oral cavity within less than one minute leaving an easy-to-swallow residue. This is seen to affect about 35% of the general population and associated with a number of circumstances like Parkinsonism, mental disability, motion sickness, unconsciousness, unavailability of the water etc. Other groups that may experience problems using conventional oral dosage forms include the mentally ill, the developmentally disabled, and patients who are uncooperative, on reduced liquid-intake plans, or are nauseated. To overcome such difficulties, mouth dissolving tablets have been developed. The aim of this review article is to give an overview on desired characteristics, advantages, preparation techniques and patented technologies of FDTs formulation.

The love affair of Asian’s with Ling zhi, the Chinese name for Ganoderma lucidum and related species can be traced back over two thousand years. Ganoderma lucidum has been used for a broad spectrum of health benefits from preventive measures and maintenance of health to the regulation or treatment of chronic as well as acute life threatening illness. The present study was done to compare the Aqueous and methanolic extract of Ganoderma lucidum for anthelmintic activity and to compare the methanolic and chloroform-acetone extract of Ganoderma lucidum for antibacterial activity. Aqueous extract of mushroom did not show any result for anthelmintic activity, while the methanolic extract (60 mg/ml) was equally effective as standard (Albendazole 20 mg/ml). For antibacterial activity both the methanolic (350 mg/ml) and chloroform-acetone (350 mg/ml) extracts showed effective results, but the results of choloroform-acetone extract were more effective than methanolic extract and standard (Gentamycin 40 mg/ml). Key words: anthelmintic, antibacterial, methanolic extract, aqueous extract.

Over the years, different formulation technologies for gastroretentive dosage delivery were investigated and patented. Well-designed controlled drug delivery system can overcome the problems of conventional therapy and enhance the therapeutic efficacy of a drug. There are various approaches in delivering a therapeutic substance to target site in a sustained controlled release fashion. One such approach is using multiparticulate as carriers for drugs. Such systems have advantages over single-unit dosage forms as they avoid the all-or-none gastric emptying nature of single-unit systems. However, multiparticulate dosage forms are gaining favor because of potential benefits like predictable gastric emptying, no risk of dose dumping, flexible release patterns and increased bioavailability with less inter- and intra-subject variability. The purpose of writing this review on method of prepare floating multiparticulate is to compile the recent literature with special focus on the classification and formulation aspects, principal mechanism of floatation to achieve gastric retention, characterization of floating multiparticulate system. Keywords- multiparticulate system, design and method of preparation, floating microspheres, beads, granules.    

Gymnema sylvestre has been extensively evaluated for its in vitro and in vivo activity against diabetes mellitus. The leaves of the shrub Gymnema sylvestre contain a complex of pentacyclic triterpenes known as gymnemic acids that have been reported as potential therapeutic agents in the treatment of diabetes. The present study reveals the relationship between the structure and function of the medicinally important constituents of this plant. To understand the binding mechanisms of these active constituents, molecular modelling studies has been performed with dipeptidyl peptidase-4, protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B, sodium potassium ATPase, aldose reductase and glycogen synthase kinase-3β as target proteins using XP docking program of Glide, version 9.2, Schrödinger suit. These constituents showed favourable interactions with the amino acid residues at the active site, their by substantiating their proven efficacy as antidiabetic agents. The present study also gives an insight to the probable herb-drug interaction and reason for sudden hypoglycemic shocks that may occur on concurrent administration of Gymnema extract and synthetic drug, Glimepiride, for the treatment of diabetes.

The anthelmintic activity of fruit extracts of an Indian Medicinal plant Syzygium cuminii Linn. was evaluated on earthworms of Pheretima posthuma. This is because earthworms have anatomical and physiological resemblance with that of intestinal roundworm parasites of human beings. Here anthelmintic activity of the herb was determined by time taken for paralysis and death of earthworms after suitable treatment and comparison with standard drug piperazine citrate. The ethanol extract of Syzygium cuminii fruit at concentration of 50 mg/ml showed most pronounced activity. The results suggest that fruits of Syzygium cuminii possess anthelmintic activity. There is scope for future study on this plant.

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) introduced in 1991 represent an alternative carrier system to traditional colloidal carriers, such as emulsions, liposomes and polymeric micro- and nanoparticles. SLN are aqueous colloidal dispersions, the matrix of which comprises of solid biodegradable lipids. These lipid nanoparticles modify drug release, body distribution and kinetics of associated drugs. solid lipid nanoparticles hold great promise for reaching the goal of controlled and site specific drug delivery and hence have attracted wide attention of researchers. This review presents a broad treatment of solid lipid nanoparticles discussing their advantages, limitations, production techniques, drug incorporation, loading capacity and drug release, characterization and applications. The potential of SLN to be exploited for the different administration routes is highlighted also. Key words:  Solid lipid nanoparticles , colloidal drug carriers, homogenization, Drug Targeting.

  The purpose of the present study was to develop an optimized gastric floating extended release matrix tablet of Metformin hydrochloride (FERMTs) using a hydrophilic polymer, HPMC K4M, a hydrophobic polymer ethyl cellulose and sodium bicarbonate as buoyancy contributor. The formulation of FERMTs were designed by D-optimal mixture design taking % of HPMC K4M, ethyl cellulose and sodium bicarbonate as formulation variables and prepared by wet granulation method. The FERMTs were then evaluated for hardness, friability, weight variation, content uniformity, in vitro drug release and floating capacity. Finally, the floating lag time (FLT) and cumulative % drug release at 1h, 2h, 6h and 10h were taken as response variables and the FERMT formulation was numerically optimized by D-optimal mixture design using Design-Expert software (version 8.1). The optimized formula showed excellent floating efficiency over 10 h period with FLT of 9.61 mins. The release profile of optimized formula showed much closed similarity with that of USP reference dissolution profile (f2 value= 87.95). Analysis of dissolution data showed that the kinetic of drug release followed Korsemeyer-Peppas and Higuchi model.

  Stress is a biological response to aversive conditions that tend to threaten or perturb the homeostasis of the organisms. Stress is one of the basic factors in the etiology of number of diseases and stress has been postulated to be involved in pathogenesis of various diseases, such as psychiatric disorders like depression and anxiety, immune suppression, endocrine disorder like diabetes mellitus, impotency, cognitive dysfunction, peptic ulcer, ulcerative colitis and cardiovascular disorder like atherosclerosis and hypertension. So a mixture of herbal extracts like Arjuna, Ashwagandha, Brahmi and Shankhapushpi in equal ratios was microencapsulated using different types of wall polymers by non solvent addition method. Microcapsules were evaluated for their percentage yield, percentage actual drug content, percentage extract entrapment efficiency, flowability and drug release kinetics. Kollicoat SR 30 D and aluminium stearate were observed as effective in prevention of particle aggregation during phase separation.  Microcapsules were shown controlled drug release pattern for 12 hours due to the presence of Eudragit RS 100 and Eudragit RL 100. Both these wall polymers are responsible for controlling the drug release from microcapsules through diffusion in phosphate buffer medium having pH 7.4.

  Despite disadvantages, oral drug delivery remains the preferred route of drug delivery. Oral administration is the most popular route due to ease of ingestion, pain avoidance, versatility (to accommodate various types of drug candidates), and most importantly, patient compliance. FDTs are intended and designed to disintegrate and dissolve in saliva and then easily swallowed without need of water, which is a major benefit over conventional dosage form. Fast dissolving tablets can be prepared by various conventional methods like direct compression, wet granulation, moulding, spray drying, freeze drying, and sublimation. Some of the patented technologies with improved performance, patient compliance, and enhanced quality have emerged in the recent past. In 1986, the first lyophilized fast-dissolving technology Zydis was introduced by Cardinal formerly R. P. Scherer and after that there was a continuous growth in names, technologies & patented technology by different companies such as Wowtab technology, oraquick technology etc. Various excipients are employed in the formulation for example superdisintegrants such as crospovidone (CP), sodium starch glycolate (SSG), croscarmellose sodium and PVP as binder and many more. The review also covers the evaluation parameters including pre-compression and post compression parameters and packaging of FDTs. There are multiple fast-dissolving OTC and Rx products on the market worldwide, most of which have been launched in the past 3 to 4 years. There have also been significant increases in the number of new chemical entities under development using a fast-dissolving drug delivery technology. Thus, in near future, it is expected that this delivery system will get much importance as that of conventional delivery systems. This article provides a comprehensive review of various technologies. Key Words: Oral delivery, fast dissolving tablet, drug delivery, Novel dosage forms.