{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T14:45:58Z","timestamp":1789569958243,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,22]],"date-time":"2023-03-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1679443200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University","award":["PSAU\/2023\/R\/1444"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PSAU\/2023\/R\/1444"]}]},{"name":"Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University","award":["PNURSP2023R205"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PNURSP2023R205"]}]},{"name":"Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University","award":["PSAU\/2023\/R\/1444"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PSAU\/2023\/R\/1444"]}]},{"name":"Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University","award":["PNURSP2023R205"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PNURSP2023R205"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceutics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Iron deficiency is the principal cause of nutritional anemia and it constitutes a major health problem, especially during pregnancy. Despite the availability of various non-invasive traditional oral dosage forms such as tablets, capsules, and liquid preparations of iron, they are hard to consume for special populations such as pregnant women, pediatric, and geriatric patients with dysphagia and vomiting tendency. The objective of the present study was to develop and characterize pullulan-based iron-loaded orodispersible films (i-ODFs). Microparticles of iron were formulated by a microencapsulation technique, to mask the bitter taste of iron, and ODFs were fabricated by a modified solvent casting method. Morphological characteristics of the microparticles were identified by optical microscopy and the percentage of iron loading was evaluated by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The fabricated i-ODFs were evaluated for their morphology by scanning electron microscopy. Other parameters including thickness, folding endurance, tensile strength, weight variation, disintegration time, percentage moisture loss, surface pH, and in vivo animal safety were evaluated. Lastly, stability studies were carried out at a temperature of 25 \u00b0C\/60% RH. The results of the study confirmed that pullulan-based i-ODFs had good physicochemical properties, excellent disintegration time, and optimal stability at specified storage conditions. Most importantly, the i-ODFs were free from irritation when administered to the tongue as confirmed by the hamster cheek pouch model and surface pH determination. Collectively, the present study suggests that the film-forming agent, pullulan, could be successfully employed on a lab scale to formulate orodispersible films of iron. In addition, i-ODFs can be processed easily on a large scale for commercial use.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pharmaceutics15031027","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,22]],"date-time":"2023-03-22T09:10:04Z","timestamp":1679476204000},"page":"1027","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Development and Characterization of Pullulan-Based Orodispersible Films of Iron"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5994-831X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maram Suresh","family":"Gupta","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutics, JSS College of Pharmacy, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysore 570015, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tegginamath Pramod","family":"Kumar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutics, JSS College of Pharmacy, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysore 570015, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dinesh","family":"Reddy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Aavishkar Oral Strips Private Limited, Plot No. 109\/3, Phase-II, Sector 2, Lane No. 6 IDA Cherlapally, Hyderabad 500051, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9074-9792","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kamla","family":"Pathak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmacy College Saifai, Uttar Pradesh University of Medical Sciences, Etawah 206130, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Devegowda Vishakante","family":"Gowda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutics, Cauvery College of Pharmacy, Mysuru 570028, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"A. V. Naresh","family":"Babu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Aavishkar Oral Strips Private Limited, Plot No. 109\/3, Phase-II, Sector 2, Lane No. 6 IDA Cherlapally, Hyderabad 500051, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alhussain H.","family":"Aodah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3741-0893","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"El-Sayed","family":"Khafagy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia"},{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2821-9373","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hadil Faris","family":"Alotaibi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7385-868X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amr Selim","family":"Abu Lila","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Ha\u2019il, Ha\u2019il 81442, Saudi Arabia"},{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3902-1162","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Afrasim","family":"Moin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Ha\u2019il, Ha\u2019il 81442, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5138-8223","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Talib","family":"Hussin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Ha\u2019il, Ha\u2019il 81442, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Petry, N., Olofin, I., Hurrell, R.F., Boy, E., Wirth, J.P., Moursi, M., Donahue Angel, M., and Rohner, F. 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