Oral Thin Films for Nutraceutical Delivery: Translational Advances, Formulation Strategies, and Clinical Perspectives

The worldwide nutraceutical market is also rapidly growing due to rising demand for personalized, convenient, and effective health supplements. Oral Thin Films (OTFs) are an emerging nutraceutical delivery system because of their rapid disintegration, administration without water, accurate dosage, and enhanced compliance with treatment, especially in children and geriatric patients. This review is a critical assessment of formulation and material approaches for nutraceutical OTFs, with a special focus on polymer selection, excipient compatibility, bioactive stability, and advanced film structures. The nutraceutical OTFs have been described in terms of their translational development, including the development of manufacturing technologies such as solvent casting, hot-melt extrusion, electrospinning, and three-dimensional printing. The major issues connected with regulatory classification, scale-up, homogeneity of dose, bioavailability, and long-term stability are analyzed systematically. Moreover, novel developments in individualized nutraceutical delivery, such as multilayer films, nanoencapsulation, the introduction of probiotics, and the implementation of digital methods for formulation design, are investigated. In general, the nutraceutical OTFs can be viewed as a flexible and effective delivery system with substantial potential of closing the gap between formulation science and clinical practice and creating the prospects of personalized and functional nutrition.