Enteric-Coated Polymers Past and Present - A Review

Abstract

Tablet coating has evolved over the years and today, there are various types of coating for delayed release of a drug. Drugs can be enteric-coated to provide delayed release, protect the active pharmaceutical ingredients, minimize undesirable effects, and modify the pharmacokinetic properties of a drug, which will have clinical impacts. There are certain types of drugs that need to be enteric coated due to various reasons, such as it being a gastric irritant or it being acid liable. This article will review ethylcellulose and polymethacrylate, their role in an enteric coating, and their process coating parameters. Ethylcellulose can be used to provide a short delayed release; it can be modified by adding pH-dependent polymers such as sodium alginate and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose phthalate for a long delayed release. On the other hand, polymethacrylate can also be employed to enteric coat drugs without additional polymers. Polymethacrylate such as Eudragit comes in different grades with varying proportions of polymer ratio, allowing for targeted delayed drug release. These will impact which polymer to be employed. Upon choosing the coating material of choice, modeling can also be employed to predict in vitro and in vivo correlation as enteric-coated products can have unpredictable in vivo PK profiles. Today, the trend is moving away from the traditional coating and towards new polymers, and with digitalization, there is a focus to start using data from laboratory experiments to be integrated with computational modeling, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to accurately predict key process parameters and film properties for high-quality products.

Modified Release 3D-Printed Capsules Containing a Ketoprofen Self-Nanoemulsifying System for Personalized Medical Application

“…Enteric drug delivery systems, for example, are orally administered gastro-resistant dosage forms that are intact upon passage through the stomach but completely dissolve in the small intestine. 5 These systems are typically based on the use of pH-sensitive polymers such as methacrylic acid copolymers 6 and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose phthalate (HPMCP). 6,7 Drug administration via these dosage forms offers many advantages, including minimizing the associated upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract side effects.…”

“…5 These systems are typically based on the use of pH-sensitive polymers such as methacrylic acid copolymers 6 and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose phthalate (HPMCP). 6,7 Drug administration via these dosage forms offers many advantages, including minimizing the associated upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract side effects. 5 Moreover, selfnanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDSs) are normally one of the emerging strategies developed to tackle the issues associated with the low oral bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs.…”

“…Therefore, there is a persistent need to tailor pharmaceutical products to meet the precise requirements of such patients. This approach falls within the currently well-recognized scope of personalized medicine, also known as precise medicine. , Three-dimensional (3D) printing has recently emerged as a promising versatile technology for producing personalized solid pharmaceutical products like tablets or capsules with tailored size, shape, filling materials, or drug content. − There are many technologies that have been suggested as a promising solution for the production of personalized medicine such as photopolymerization, material extrusion (ME), inkjetting, and powder bed fusion . ME is widely used in this field, having different techniques such as fused filament fabrication (FFF) and semisolid extrusion.…”

“…Enteric drug delivery systems, for example, are orally administered gastro-resistant dosage forms that are intact upon passage through the stomach but completely dissolve in the small intestine . These systems are typically based on the use of pH-sensitive polymers such as methacrylic acid copolymers and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose phthalate (HPMCP). , Drug administration via these dosage forms offers many advantages, including minimizing the associated upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract side effects . Moreover, self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDSs) are normally one of the emerging strategies developed to tackle the issues associated with the low oral bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs. , SNEDDSs are composed of an oily phase and surfactants.…”