Orally disintegrating films based on sodium alginate as a carrier vehicle for vitamin C

Summary Orally disintegrating films (ODFs) have been studied for their innovative way of delivering active compounds into the oral cavity. The study aimed to develop and evaluate ODFs using sodium alginate and different concentrations of vitamin C. Four formulations were evaluated for barrier, mechanical, thermal, microstructural properties, surface pH, disintegration time and concentration of vitamins. The ODFs produced showed high solubility, pH close to oral and disintegration time ranging from 24.66 s for the control formulation to 56.28 s for the 1% ascorbic acid formulation. The release of vitamin C occurred after 1 min of reaction for all formulations with the lowest concentration (0.25%) releasing a volume of 80.46 mg g −1 . Thermal analyses demonstrated the presence of sodium alginate and vitamin C, and an interaction between them, confirmed by FTIR spectra. This interaction was interesting for ODFs since it can affect the properties and release of the active compound from the polymeric matrix. The results positively demonstrated that sodium alginate can be a promising polymer in the production of ODFs and for use in the delivery of vitamin C.