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Pharmaceutics
Special Issues
Emerging Technologies for Paediatric Drug Delivery
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Emerging Technologies for Paediatric Drug Delivery

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmaceutical Technology, Manufacturing and Devices".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 October 2021) | Viewed by 14538

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Dimitrios G. Fatouros

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Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: pharmaceutical nanotechnology; mucosal delivery; poorly soluble drugs; additive manufacturing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Christina Karavasili

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, School of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: mucosal drug delivery; paediatric drug delivery; poorly-soluble drugs; self-assembling peptides
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

The development of age-appropriate formulations for the pediatric population is still an unmet need and priority in healthcare provision. The current status of available dosage forms designed specifically for children is ailing, with adult medicines monopolizing pharmaceutical manufacturing. Flexibility in dose adjustment across all weight and age bands is essential for dose accuracy while, at the same time, facilitating ease of administration. At the same time, minimization of the excipient levels and of the duration and frequency of dosing might counterbalance the potential risks stemming from excipient exposure. The development of swallowable and palatable dosage forms is also fundamental in increasing patient acceptability, mitigating taste aversion and maximizing pediatric treatment adherence.

This Special Issue is devoted to cutting-edge formulation technologies including, among others, additive manufacturing and electrospinning, taste-masking approaches, and medical and dosing devices to improve the availability of pediatric formulations, facilitate dose accuracy, enhance palatability, patient compliance, and therapeutic efficacy.

Prof. Dimitrios G. Fatouros
Dr. Christina Karavasili
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceutics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • 2D and 3D printing
  • selective laser sintering
  • stereolithography
  • bioprinting
  • electrospinning
  • dose accuracy
  • taste masking
  • patient compliance
  • personalized medicine

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2177 KiB  
Article
I Spy with My Little Eye: A Paediatric Visual Preferences Survey of 3D Printed Tablets
by Patricija Januskaite, Xiaoyan Xu, Sejal R. Ranmal, Simon Gaisford, Abdul W. Basit, Catherine Tuleu and Alvaro Goyanes
Pharmaceutics 2020, 12(11), 1100; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics12111100 - 17 Nov 2020
Cited by 79 | Viewed by 6152
Abstract
3D printing (3DP) in the pharmaceutical field is a disruptive technology that allows the preparation of personalised medicines at the point of dispensing. The paediatric population presents a variety of pharmaceutical formulation challenges such as dose flexibility, patient compliance, taste masking and the [...] Read more.
3D printing (3DP) in the pharmaceutical field is a disruptive technology that allows the preparation of personalised medicines at the point of dispensing. The paediatric population presents a variety of pharmaceutical formulation challenges such as dose flexibility, patient compliance, taste masking and the fear or difficulty to swallow tablets, all factors that could be overcome using the adaptable nature of 3DP. User acceptability studies of 3D printed formulations have been previously carried out in adults; however, feedback from children themselves is essential in establishing the quality target product profile towards the development of age-appropriate medicines. The aim of this study was to investigate the preference of children for different 3D printed tablets (Printlets™) as an important precursor to patient acceptability studies. Four different 3DP technologies; digital light processing (DLP), selective laser sintering (SLS), semi-solid extrusion (SSE) and fused deposition modeling (FDM) were used to prepare placebo printlets with similar physical attributes including size and shape. A single-site, two-part survey was completed with participants aged 4–11 years to determine their preference and opinions based on visual inspection of the printlets. A total of 368 participants completed an individual open questionnaire to visually select the best and worst printlet, and 310 participants completed further non-compulsory open questions to elaborate on their choices. Overall, the DLP printlets were the most visually appealing to the children (61.7%) followed by the SLS printlets (21.2%), and with both the FDM (5.4%) and SSE (11.7%) printlets receiving the lowest scores. However, after being informed that the SSE printlets were chewable, the majority of participants changed their selection and favoured this printlet, despite their original choice, in line with children’s preference towards chewable dosage forms. Participant age and sex displayed no significant differences in printlet selection. Printlet descriptions were grouped into four distinct categories; appearance, perceived taste, texture and familiarity, and were found to be equally important when creating a quality target product profile for paediatric 3D printed formulations. This study is the first to investigate children’s perceptions of printlets, and the findings aim to provide guidance for further development of paediatric-appropriate medicines using different 3DP technologies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Technologies for Paediatric Drug Delivery)
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14 pages, 14720 KiB  
Article
Electrospun Orodispersible Films of Isoniazid for Pediatric Tuberculosis Treatment
by Konstantina Chachlioutaki, Emmanouil K. Tzimtzimis, Dimitrios Tzetzis, Ming-Wei Chang, Zeeshan Ahmad, Christina Karavasili and Dimitrios G. Fatouros
Pharmaceutics 2020, 12(5), 470; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics12050470 - 21 May 2020
Cited by 38 | Viewed by 4022
Abstract
Child-appropriate dosage forms are critical in promoting adherence and effective pharmacotherapy in pediatric patients, especially those undergoing long-term treatment in low-resource settings. The present study aimed to develop orodispersible films (ODFs) for isoniazid administration to children exposed to tuberculosis. The ODFs were produced [...] Read more.
Child-appropriate dosage forms are critical in promoting adherence and effective pharmacotherapy in pediatric patients, especially those undergoing long-term treatment in low-resource settings. The present study aimed to develop orodispersible films (ODFs) for isoniazid administration to children exposed to tuberculosis. The ODFs were produced from the aqueous solutions of natural and semi-synthetic polymer blends using electrospinning. The spinning solutions and the resulting fibers were physicochemically characterized, and the disintegration time and isoniazid release from the ODFs were assessed in simulated salivary fluid. The ODFs comprised of nanofibers with adequate thermal stability and possible drug amorphization. Film disintegration occurred instantly upon contact with simulated salivary fluid within less than 15 s, and isoniazid release from the ODFs in the same medium followed after the disintegration profiles, achieving rapid and total drug release within less than 60 s. The ease of administration and favorable drug loading and release properties of the ODFs may provide a dosage form able to facilitate proper adherence to treatment within the pediatric patient population. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Technologies for Paediatric Drug Delivery)
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18 pages, 4648 KiB  
Article
Solid Dosage Forms of Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate Intended for Pediatric Use: Formulation and Stability Studies
by Maria S. Synaridou, Eleftherios G. Andriotis, Constantinos K. Zacharis, Dimitrios G. Fatouros and Catherine K. Markopoulou
Pharmaceutics 2020, 12(4), 354; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics12040354 - 14 Apr 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3735
Abstract
Undesirable taste has always been a key issue for oral dosage forms. The aim of the present study was to co-formulate dexamethasone sodium phosphate (DSP), in common pediatric oral forms, using sweet preserves and/or different types of chocolate as excipients. An array of [...] Read more.
Undesirable taste has always been a key issue for oral dosage forms. The aim of the present study was to co-formulate dexamethasone sodium phosphate (DSP), in common pediatric oral forms, using sweet preserves and/or different types of chocolate as excipients. An array of different kinds of chocolate were co-formulated with DSP and were further characterized by means of dynamic light scattering (DLS), x-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. For the assay of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), the chocolate samples were pre-treated by means of liquid extraction and analyzed using an high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with a strong anion exchange column and a phosphate buffer (17 mM, pH = 3)/acetonitrile, 50:50 v/v as mobile phase. The developed chromatographic method was validated based on the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines (%Mean Recovery = 99.4% and %Relative Standard Deviation, RSD = 0.43%). Furthermore, dissolution and in vitro digestion tests of chocolate formulations were evaluated. The DSP was found to be stable for at least 1 year in prepared preparations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Technologies for Paediatric Drug Delivery)
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