Mini - Tablets Technology: An Overview

It is well known that solid oral dosage forms, particularly tablets, are the most acceptable form of delivering medication. However, some new variations are beginning to emerge such as mini-tablets, which offer formulation flexibility. A multifunctional and multiple unit system for oral use are developed by filling versatile mini-tablets in a hard capsule. Multipulsatile DDS, site-specific DDS, zero-order DDS, slow/quick DDS, and quick/ slow DDS are designed in different ways and are investigated. Mini-tablets are small tablets with a diameter typically equal to or less than 3 mm that are typically filled into a capsule, or occasionally, further compressed into larger tablets. It is possible to incorporate many different mini-tablets, each one formulated individually and programmed to release drug at different sites within the gastrointestinal track, into one capsule. These combinations may include immediate release, delayed release, and/or controlled release mini-tablets. It is also possible to incorporate mini-tablets of different drugs to treat concurrent diseases or combinations of drugs to improve overall therapeutic outcome, while delivering distinct release rates of each according to disease requirements. Mini-tablets combine the advantages of multiparticulate dosage forms with the established manufacturing techniques of tableting. Additional benefits of mini-tablets include excellent size uniformity, regular shape and a smooth surface, thereby offering an excellent substrate for coating with modified release polymeric systems. From this, study it can be concluded that, granules-mini-tablets filled in HPMC capsule systems and coated mini-tablet-in-HPMC capsule system sulphate shows both sustained release as well as immediate release may improve the bioavailability and efficacy of any drugs. Keywords: Mini-tablets, immediate-release, delayed-release, controlled-release, multiparticulate dosage forms.