Mucoadhesive buccal films: A promising approach for Controlled Drug Delivery
Keywords:
Mucoadhesive Buccal Films, Buccal Drug Delivery, Controlled Drug Release, Mucoadhesion, HPMC, Carbopol, ChitosanAbstract
Mucoadhesive buccal films have emerged as an advanced and patient-friendly controlled drug delivery system for both local and systemic therapy. These films are designed to adhere to the buccal mucosa and release the drug in a controlled manner, thereby improving therapeutic efficacy and patient compliance. Buccal drug delivery offers several advantages including avoidance of hepatic first-pass metabolism, protection from gastrointestinal degradation, rapid onset of action, and improved bioavailability. Due to these advantages, buccal films are increasingly explored for the delivery of various drugs, particularly those with poor oral bioavailability.
Mucoadhesive buccal films are commonly prepared using natural and synthetic polymers such as Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (HPMC), Carbopol, Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA), and Chitosan. Among various preparation methods, solvent casting technique is the most widely employed because of its simplicity and ability to produce uniform films. Evaluation parameters including thickness, folding endurance, tensile strength, swelling index, mucoadhesive strength, drug content, and in-vitro drug release are important for optimization of film performance.
Recent advances in buccal film technology include the incorporation of nanoparticles, permeation enhancers, bilayer systems, and smart polymers to improve drug permeation and controlled release behavior. Buccal films have demonstrated promising applications in the delivery of antidiabetic, antihypertensive, analgesic, antimicrobial, and peptide drugs.
This review highlights the anatomy of buccal mucosa, mechanism of mucoadhesion, polymers used in buccal films, methods of preparation, evaluation parameters, advantages, limitations, recent advances, and future prospects of mucoadhesive buccal films as a promising approach for controlled drug delivery.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 International Journal of Advances in Pharmaceutics
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).