HOT-MELT EXTRUSION TECHNOLOGY: OPTIMIZING DRUG DELIVERY

Drug delivery is the method or process of administering a pharmaceutical compound to achieve a therapeutic effect in humans or animals. For the treatment of human diseases, nasal and pulmonary routes of drug delivery are gaining increasing importance.

Hot-melt extrusion (HME) technology was first utilized predominantly in the plastic industry and to a lesser extent in the food industry since the 1930’s. The many advantages of HME over conventional solid dosage form manufacturing have piqued the interest of the pharmaceutical industry and academia as a novel drug delivery technology. This innovative technology has been shown to be extremely robust and a viable method of producing many different drug delivery systems, including implantable reservoirs, pellets, films, capsules and tablets. Moreover, the possibility of forming solid dispersions offering improved bioavailability renders HME an excellent alternative to other conventionally employed techniques.

Extrusion is a process that involves forcing a raw material or blend through a die or orifice under set conditions such as temperature, pressure, rate of mixing and feed-rate, for the purpose of producing a stable product of uniform shape and density1 . Since the 1930’s, hot-melt extrusion has mainly been utilized in the plastic industry in the production of plastic products such as bags, sheets, and pipes2. The process is also utilized to a limited extent in the food industry in for example, extrusion cooking for the manufacture of cereals3. The technology has now found application in the pharmaceutical industry in the area of drug delivery.

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Editorial Manager
Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences & Emerging Drugs
Email: editor.jpsed@scitechnol.com