A review on mouth dissolving films.

The ultimate goal of any drug delivery system is the successful delivery of the drug to the body; however, patient compliance must not be overlooked. Fast dissolving drug delivery systems, such as, Mouth Dissolving Films (MDF), offer a convenient way of dosing medications, not only to special population groups with swallowing difficulties such as children and the elderly, but also to the general population. MDF are the novel dosage forms that disintegrate and dissolve within the oral cavity. Intra-oral absorption permits rapid onset of action and helps by-pass first-pass effects, thereby reducing the unit dose required to produce desired therapeutic effect. The present review provides an overview of various polymers that can be employed in the manufacture of MDF and highlights the effect of polymers and plasticizers on various physico-mechanical properties of MDF. It further gives a brief account of formulation of MDF and problems faced during its manufacture.