title: Mini-tablets: a contemporary system for oral drug delivery in targeted patient groups.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mini-tablets represent a new trend in solid dosage form design, with the main goal of overcoming some therapeutic obstacles such as impaired swallowing and polypharmacy therapy, and also offering some therapeutic benefits such as dose flexibility and combined release patterns. Mini-tablets are a promising patient-friendly drug delivery system.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mini-tablets are tablets with a diameter ≤ 3 mm produced on conventional tablet presses equipped with multiple tooling. Mini-tablet production is similar to the production of standard tablets but requires excellent powder flow due to the small dies, exact control of process parameters and special caution during tablet press assembly in order to avoid tool damage. Mini-tablets (coated or uncoated and single- or multiple-unit systems) are mainly developed as patient-friendly systems for pediatric and geriatric patients and also for personalized medicine because they offer improved swallowing and flexible dosing, combining various release kinetics, doses and active compounds in only one system. Mini-tablets may also be successfully used as multiple-unit modified release systems (extended release, delayed-colon release, pulsatile and bi-modal release and gastroretentive systems) providing improved drug bioavailability compared with single-unit systems.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mini-tablets used as single- or multiple-unit oral dosage forms have enormous potential as a patient-friendly drug delivery system for targeted populations, providing improved swallowing, flexible dosing and a combination of different release patterns and/or different active compounds (decreasing dosing frequency and/or polypharmacy therapy problems). In terms of complete expression of the benefits of mini-tablets over other oral dosage forms on the market, further investigation in formulation possibilities and development of suitable dosing devices is of essential importance.
authors.affiliation: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Pharmacy , Aškerčeva Cesta 7, 1000 Ljubljana , Slovenia.
authors.forename: Aleksandar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aleksovski
authors.forename: Rok
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dreu
authors.forename: Mirjana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gašperlin
authors.forename: Odon
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Planinšek
mesh_terms: D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical / Q000379:methods*; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005853:Geriatrics; D006801:Humans; D010372:Pediatrics; D057285:Precision Medicine; D013607:Tablets / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics
chemical_list: D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents; D013607:Tablets
keywords: bimodal release; extended release; floating dosage forms; geriatrics; mini-tablets; mucoadhesive dosage forms; pediatrics; personalized therapy; pulsatile release