Review Article
Current Trends on Solid Dispersions: Past, Present, and Future
Ruba Malkawi ,
1
Walla I. Malkawi,
2
Yahia Al-Mahmoud,
1
and Jawad Tawalbeh
3
1
School of Pharmacy, Jadara University, P.O. Box 733, Irbid 21110, Jordan
2
School of Pharmacy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
3
School of Business, Teesside University, Campus Heart, Southfield Rd, Middlesbrough TS1 3BX, UK
Correspondence should be addressed to Ruba Malkawi; r.malkawi@jadara.edu.jo
Received 12 July 2022; Revised 10 August 2022; Accepted 21 September 2022; Published 22 October 2022
Academic Editor: Srinivas Mutalik
Copyright © 2022 Ruba Malkawi et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Solid dispersions have achieved significant interest as an effective means of enhancing the dissolution rate and thus the bio-
availability of a range of weakly water-soluble drugs. Solid dispersions of weakly water-soluble drugs with water-soluble carriers
have lowered the frequency of these problems and improved dissolution. Solid dispersion is a solubilization technology em-
phasizing mainly on, drug-polymer two-component systems in which drug dispersion and its stabilization is the key to for-
mulation development. erefore, this technology is recognized as an exceptionally useful means of improving the dissolution
properties of poorly water-soluble drugs and in the latest years, a big deal of understanding has been accumulated about solid
dispersion, however, their commercial application is limited. In this review article, emphasis is placed on solubility, BCS
classification, and carriers. Moreover, this article presents the diverse preparation techniques for solid dispersion and gathers
some of the recent technological transfers. e different types of solid dispersions based on the carrier used and molecular
arrangement were underlined. Additionally, it summarizes the mechanisms, the methods of preparing solid dispersions, and the
marketed drugs that are available using solid dispersion approaches.
1. Introduction
e oral route is the most convenience route for drug
adminstration and favore mode of delivery [1]. From the
patient’s standpoint, swallowing and medication is a com-
fortable and familiar method of taking medication. As a result,
orally delivered drugs are often more effective than alternative
modes of administration, such as parenteral, in terms of
patient compliance and drug treatment. When an active
substance is given orally, it must first dissolve in the stomach
and/or intestinal fluids before it can pass through the GI
tract’s membranes and reach systemic circulation [2].
erefore, water solubility and/or membrane permeability of
the drug molecule are significant contributors to drug ab-
sorption from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, which causes low
medication bioavailability of the medications. Consequently,
a drug with weak aqueous solubility usually shows a disso-
lution rate of limited absorption, while a drug with weak
membrane permeability usually shows a permeation rate of
limited absorption [3].
Pharmaceutical scientists have two approaches to im-
proving the oral bioavailability of pharmacologically active
agents: (i) improving the solubility and dissolution rate of
poorly water-soluble medications, and (ii) improving the
permeability of poorly permeable drugs [4].
In the pharmaceutical literature, a variety of strategies have
been used to improve the dissolving capabilities of weakly
water-soluble medications other than solid dispersions. Some
of these strategies are salt creation, complexation with cyclo-
dextrins, solubilization of pharmaceuticals in solvent(s), and
particle size reduction; however, each of these procedures has
significant limitations, such as poor yield, expensive, time
consuming, and very low drug solubility [5]. On the other
hand, formulating pharmaceuticals as solid dispersions pro-
vides several processing and excipient alternatives, allowing for
greater flexibility for formulating oral delivery systems of
poorly tolerated water-soluble medications [6].
Much of the research that has been published on solid
dispersion technologies includes medications that are poorly
water-soluble and highly permeable to biological membranes
Hindawi
Advances in Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Volume 2022, Article ID 5916013, 17 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/5916013