Hindawi Publishing Corporation BioMed Research International Volume 2013, Article ID 197398, 12 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/197398 Research Article Design Expert Supported Mathematical Optimization and Predictability Study of Buccoadhesive Pharmaceutical Wafers of Loratadine Prithviraj Chakraborty, 1 Surajit Dey, 2 Versha Parcha, 3 Shiv Sankar Bhattacharya, 4 and Amitava Ghosh 1 1 Bengal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, West Bengal University of Technology, B.R.B. Sarani, Durgapur, West Bengal 713212, India 2 College of Pharmacy, Roseman University of Health Sciences, 11 Sunset Way, Henderson, NV 89052, USA 3 S. Bhagwan Singh PG Institute of Biomedical Sciences and Research, Balawala, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248001, India 4 School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, IFTM University, Lodhipur Rajput, Delhi Road (NH-24), Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh 244 102, India Correspondence should be addressed to Prithviraj Chakraborty; prithvirajchakraborty.pc@gmail.com Received 4 April 2013; Accepted 2 May 2013 Academic Editor: Yoshinori Onuki Copyright © 2013 Prithviraj Chakraborty et al. Tis 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. Objective. Te objective of this work encompasses the application of the response surface approach in the development of buccoadhesive pharmaceutical wafers of Loratadine (LOR). Methods. Experiments were performed according to a 3 2 factorial design to evaluate the efects of buccoadhesive polymer, sodium alginate (A), and lactose monohydrate as ingredient, of hydrophilic matrix former (B) on the bioadhesive force, disintegration time, percent (%) swelling index, and time taken for 70% drug release ( 70% ). Te efect of the two independent variables on the response variables was studied by response surface plots and contour plots generated by the Design-Expert sofware. Te desirability function was used to optimize the response variables. Results. Te compatibility between LOR and the wafer excipients was confrmed by diferential scanning calorimetry, FTIR spectroscopy, and X-ray difraction (XRD) analysis. Bioadhesion force, measured with TAXT2i texture analyzer, showed that the wafers had a good bioadhesive property which could be advantageous for retaining the drug into the buccal cavity. Conclusion. Te observed responses taken were in agreement with the experimental values, and Loratadine wafers were produced with less experimental trials, and a patient compliant product was achieved with the concept of formulation by design. 1. Introduction In the recent times, there has been tremendous advances in drug delivery to develop newer dosage forms to improve ef- fcacy of drugs that are currently in the market. However, regardless of the tremendous advances in alternate routes of drug delivery, oral route remains the most favoured route of administration of therapeutic agents in respect to low cost, ease of administration, and high level of patient compliance. Pharmaceutical oral wafers are an attractive route of adminis- tration because they dissolve or deaggregate spontaneously in the oral cavity, resulting in a solution or suspension without water. Efectively, it is a solid dosage form providing the convenience of a liquid dosage form. Majority of the drugs prescribed to patients are conventional tablets and capsules, and less attention has been paid to patients experiencing difculty in swallowing (dysphagia) [1]. Te pharmaceutical wafers hold potential advantages like rapid disintegration, no swallowing or chewing, no coadministration of water, accurate dosing compared to liquid products, great safety, and efcacy along with patient compliance. Buccal mucosa, an attractive route for systemic delivery of drugs, is relatively permeable with a rich blood supply [2, 3]. A drug can be easily applied and localized at the application