Recent Updates on Oral and Dermal Film-based Formulations and their Applications

On the one hand, oral formulations are susceptible to problems, including instability accompanied by erratic absorption throughout the gastrointestinal tract, first-pass metabolism, and patientrelated and pathological difficulties in consumption. On the other hand, the world has been observing a shift from conventional dermal formulations to the more cosmetically attractive ones. Amid all these, polymeric films and film-forming systems have emerged as promising candidates for addressing the above problems. Oral films have been studied for their potential applications in immediate and sustained- release formulations and have markedly shown increased plasma concentrations of drugs that otherwise undergo degradation in the gastrointestinal tract and the liver and have an obvious edge in treating pathologies of the oral cavity. At the same time, a variety of dermal film formulations have been developed and studied for treating wounds, skin infections and pathologies, corns and calluses, and managing pain. This review article attempts to cover significant findings in oral and dermal applications of these formulations under one umbrella and provide readers with a compilation of relevant research works and marketed formulations.