Homogeneity and mechanical properties of orodispersible films loaded with pellets

Orodispersible films (ODFs) have served as an emerging platform for the delivery of drugs in a convenient way. The production of ODFs with incorporated pellets may still be a challenging process due to problems to obtain proper homogeneity and deteriorating mechanical properties of the films with incorporated relatively big particles in high concentration. The goal of this work was to evaluate the possibility to achieve fast disintegrating ODFs with homogenously incorporated spherical granules without loss of required mechanical properties. Hypromellose films with incorporated placebo pellets (size 200 µm or 100 µm) in a content range of 20–45 % w/w were prepared by a solvent casting method. Planetary mixer (Thinky) was successfully applied for preparation of a homogeneous mass for casting. The suspended spherical solid particles caused dose and size dependent changes in the mechanical properties and disintegration behaviour of ODFs films, but only 100 µm pellets in concentration higher than 40 % reduced significantly the tear resistance. The films with the pellets disintegrated faster and the larger particles reduced the disintegration time by 60 %. Good homogeneity of pellets distribution, expressed as a number of the particles per unit area, was confirmed for films obtained with a gap height 500 or 800 µm.