Preparation and evaluation of an orally fast disintegrating tablet formulation containing a hydrophobic drug

Orally fast disintegrating tablets (FDTs or ODTs) have received ever-increasing demand during the last decade, and the field has become a rapidly growing area in the pharmaceutical industry. Upon introduction into the mouth, these tablets dissolve or disintegrate in the mouth in the absence of additional water for easy administration of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Although the FDT area has passed its infancy, as shown by a large number of commercial products on the market, there are still many aspects to improve in the FDT formulations. Despite advances in the FDT technologies, formulation of hydrophobic drugs is still a challenge, especially when the amount of drug is high. In this study, a new solution is being developed to incorporate higher doses of a model hydrophobic drug; meloxicam, without affecting the fast disintegrating properties of the formulation. In order to enhance the solubilization of meloxicam in FDT formulations, β cyclodextrin inclusion complex of the drug is prepared and FDTs containing meloxicam--β cyclodextrin inclusion complex (F1 A and F2 A) were compared and evaluated with the FDTs containing pure meloxicam (F1 and F2) by means of in vitro quality control tests.