Applications of hot-melt extrusion for drug delivery

Abstract

In today's pharmaceutical arena, it is estimated that more than 40% of new chemical entities produced during drug discovery efforts exhibit poor solubility characteristics. However, over the last decade hot-melt extrusion (HME) has emerged as a powerful processing technology for drug delivery and has opened the door to a host of molecules previously considered unviable as drugs. HME is considered to be an efficient technique in developing solid molecular dispersions and has been demonstrated to provide sustained, modified and targeted drug delivery resulting in improved bioavailability. This article reviews the range of HME applications for pharmaceutical dosage forms, such as tablets, capsules, films and implants for drug delivery through oral, transdermal, transmucosal, transungual, as well as other routes of administration. Interest in HME as a pharmaceutical process continues to grow and the potential of automation and reduction of capital investment and labor costs have made this technique worthy of consideration as a drug delivery solution.

Keywords::

• bioadhesion
• bioavailability
• controlled release
• drug delivery system
• hot-melt extrusion
• melt extruded tablets
• melt extruded films
• solid dispersion
• sustained release

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Grant Number P20RR021929 from the National Center for Research Resources. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Center for Research Resources or the National Institutes of Health.

Notes