Overcoming Mirtazapine's Therapeutic Limitations in Veterinary Practice: Development of a Taste-masked Orally Disintegrating Tablet with Microsphere-based Controlled Release.

Novel mirtazapine ODT with microspheres improves palatability and appetite stimulation in companion animals.

Mirtazapine is a widely used appetite stimulant in veterinary medicine, particularly for anorectic cats, but its clinical utility is significantly limited by intense bitterness and poor bioavailability in conventional formulations. This study describes development of a novel orally disintegrating tablet (ODT) incorporating ethyl cellulose-based microspheres for taste masking and controlled drug release. Using optimized emulsification-solvent diffusion methodology, researchers achieved 93.19% encapsulation efficiency with uniform microsphere size (106.12 μm) and pH-responsive release characteristics. Comprehensive physicochemical testing confirmed structural integrity and absence of adverse drug-polymer interactions. The resulting ODT formulation demonstrated rapid disintegration, complete gastric release, and effective bitter taste masking. In vivo studies showed significantly improved palatability and preliminary appetite stimulation compared to conventional mirtazapine formulations. Stability testing confirmed robustness under standard storage conditions. This advanced delivery system addresses major limitations of current mirtazapine therapies, potentially enhancing treatment compliance and clinical outcomes in veterinary practice while establishing a platform technology applicable to other taste-masked, controlled-release formulations.

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