Patient-Centric Drug Delivery Systems: Recent Advances in Orodispersible, Buccal, Effervescent and Multiparticulate Formulations - A Contemporary Narrative Review

Abstract

Patient-centric drug delivery has evolved from a predominantly product-centred approach toward formulation design that explicitly considers the needs, capabilities, preferences and real-world use conditions of patients and caregivers. Conventional oral dosage forms remain the preferred route for many therapies, yet tablet size, swallowing difficulty, unpleasant taste, dosing complexity, delayed onset, poor dose flexibility and the need for water can compromise acceptability and adherence. Orodispersible tablets and films, buccal systems, effervescent formulations and multiparticulate dosage forms provide complementary solutions to these limitations. This review critically discusses the formulation principles, excipient selection, manufacturing technologies, performance attributes and patient-relevant considerations associated with these four platforms.

Particular attention is given to superdisintegrants and taste-masking approaches in orodispersible systems; mucoadhesive polymers, permeation enhancers and physicochemical drug properties in buccal delivery; acid–base chemistry, moisture control and manufacturing considerations in effervescent systems; and pellets, granules, microspheres and mini-tablets as flexible multiparticulate platforms.