"Fabrication of pellets via extrusion-spheronization for engineered delivery of Famotidine through specialized straws for Paediatrics".

Objective: A simple and efficient drug delivery device was designed, viz. specialized straw comprising of famotidine-loaded fast disintegrating pellets.

Significance: Pediatric dosage forms are designed and developed considering the palatability in children of all ages. This specialized straw was intended for pediatrics presenting with dysphagia or associated symptoms.

Methods: The pellets were formulated using an extruder spheronization technique incorporated with Kyron T-314 as a super disintegrant. These pellets were characterized for their micromeritic properties, disintegration, and in vitro drug release. The specialized straw was evaluated for various parameters like flow rate of water siphoned through the straw and solvation volume.

Results: Pellets were found to have excellent flow properties, disintegration time was found to be 25-30s, and dissolution studies showed 96.1% drug release in 45min. In vitro flow rate was determined to simulate sipping action through this specialized straw. The results indicated that water flowing through the hollow straw at the rate of 13.8±1.3 mLs, when tested in prefilled specialized straw, 6.3±1.1 mLs flow rate was observed to be sufficient to dissolve the pellets.

Conclusion: Finally, the fast-disintegrating pellets demonstrated excellent in vitro performance and relative ease of manufacturing as compared to other solid dosage forms. Furthermore, the developed specialized straw can be used as a convenient and attractive drug delivery device for pediatrics.