The influence of compression force on mechanical and textural properties of compressible medicated chewing gums

Abstract

In recent years the pharmaceutical research field has shown a growing interest towards patient friendly drug delivery systems. One of those is medicated chewing gum (MCG). Considering MCG as a platform for drug delivery it is clearly evident that the main feature of its administration is relatively long mastication, that gives valuable benefits: such therapy is stressless (because the act of chewing itself has been found to relieve stress), a medication does not need to be injected or swallowed with water (which can be difficult for some patients) . The feature of continuous chewing also makes a prime opportunity for using MCGs in dental prophylaxis and treatment. Chewing process is considered to have a positive effect on the oral healthcare through facilitating the removal of sugars and bacterial fermentation end products, increasing the buffering action of saliva, enhancing the degree of remineralization of teeth, stimulation of saliva production, etc. ]. In our previous works we have substantiated the composition and method for preparation of compressible MCGs with lysozyme hydrochloride and ascorbic acid, which are intended for the prevention and treatment of dental diseases, in particular inflammatory diseases of the periodontium (gingivitis, periodontitis), mucous membranes (stomatitis), caries and manifestations of xerostomia [5-8]. A directly compressible gum base Health-in-Gum® was used (Cafosa, Spain) to obtain MCGs by a simple compression method on a common tableting machine . The aim of our work is to study mechanical and textural characteristics of MCGs depending on the compression force applied, as one of the most important parameters affecting the quality of compressed dosage forms.