An overview on fast disintegrating sublingual tablets

The demand of fast disintegrating tablets has been growing during the last decade, due to the characteristics of fast disintegrating sublingual tablets for the potential emergency treatment. In terms of permeability, the sublingual area of the oral cavity (i.e, the floor of the mouth) is more permeable than the buccal (cheek) area, which in turn is more permeable than the palatal (roof) of the mouth. Drug delivery through the oral mucous membrane is considered to be a promising alternative to the oral route. Fast disintegrating sublingual tablets may lead to significant improvements over current treatment options for specific patient group, for instance pediatric and geriatric patients. This review highlights the mechanism of sublingual absorption, factors affecting sublingual absorption, formulation techniques, types of sublingual tablets, advantages, evaluation parameters and commercially available sublingual dosage forms.