A new dual function orodissolvable/dispersible meclizine HCL tablet to challenge patient inconvenience: in vitro evaluation and in vivo assessment in human volunteers.

Meclizine hydrochloride (MCZ), a first-generation antihistamine of the piperazine class, is antiemetic and intended for the management of nausea and vomiting with few adverse effects. The introduction of orodispersible tablet (ODT) would solve the problems encountered in the administration of this drug to pediatric, geriatric, and psychiatric patients. It would be even more advantageous if the MCZ tablet could provoke rapid and prolonged efficacy. Achieving concomitant rapid and prolonged drug therapeutic effects in orodissolvable/dispersible dosage forms would be challenging. In this respect, the authors prepared tablets with coats and cores for immediate and prolonged drug absorption. To achieve this goal, nanoparticles of MCZ from chitosan (CS) and shellac (SH) were prepared by ionic crosslinking and then directly compressed with excipients to form the core in a coated tablet. The immediate release coat with MCZ with the same excipients as in the core was amenable by direct compression. MCZ in the coat dissolved in the presence of a superdisintegrant, leading to rapid absorption from the buccal cavity. Meanwhile, enteric-coated nanoparticles were swallowed and dissolved in the GIT. Intuitively, the absorption process was prolonged. The in vitro release characteristics of all the tablets were studied in comparison with a commercial tablet (CT). Additionally, evaluation of the in vivo pharmacokinetic profile of both the prepared and commercial tablets was performed in humans. The dual function tablet disintegrated in 58 s at pH 5.5. In vivo, noncompartmental pharmacokinetic analysis showed concomitant rapid absorption, possibly from the coat, followed by prolonged absorption from the core. Successfully, these good results confirm that combined rapid and prolonged MCZ therapy with the prepared dual function orodissolvable/dispersible tablet could be a promising oral drug delivery system to enhance convenience for patients. Hopefully, dual function tablets will confer a benefit through the accommodation of more than a single medication in the case of multiple therapies.