Handheld colorimeter as quality control tool for inkjet printed flexible levothyroxine doses for pediatric use

 There is a need to formulate and develop age- and weight-appropriate oral dosage forms for pediatric use. The aim of this work was to manufacture flexible doses of levothyroxine (T4) on an edible bilayered substrate using inkjet technology. The use of a handheld colorimeter as a quality control tool, to differentiate between doses with different color intensities, was also studied. The need for orally dissolvable T4 formulations was addressed in the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (BPCA) Priority List of Needs in Pediatric Therapeutics of the National Health Institution of the United States (BPCA, 2012).