**4. Conclusions**

Minitablets are getting increasingly significant among modern solid oral drug dosage forms, enabling the application of medicinal substances for patients of all ages by dose multiplying. Due to their small size they are easy to administer and swallow. Minitablets in orodispersible form improve patient compliance in relation to rapid disintegration in the oral cavity within seconds in the presence of the saliva without requirement of drinking water. Orodispersible minitablets (ODMT) with rupatadine fumarate were successfully prepared by direct compression of commercially available ready to use blends and ethylcellulose microparticles. Designed ODMT were characterized by beneficial physicochemical parameters. The presented study also indicates that MP made of etyhylcellulose with rupatadine fumarare might be e fficiently utilized in preparation of ODMT by direct compression technique. The evaluation of taste masking level undertaken by three alternative approaches (e-tongue assessment, volunteers, and the drug release) established that designed ODMT are e fficient taste–masking carriers of rupatadine fumarate and are supposed to be a promising alternative for traditional tablets.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, K.W. (Katarzyna Wasilewska) and K.W. (Katarzyna Winnicka); methodology, K.W. (Katarzyna Wasilewska), P.C.-S., J.L., S.S., A.B., and K.W. (Katarzyna Winnicka); software, P.C.-S. and J.L.; validation, K.W. (Katarzyna Wasilewska), P.C.-S., and J.L.; formal analysis, K.W. (Katarzyna Winnicka); investigation, K.W. (Katarzyna Wasilewska), P.C.-S., J.L., S.S., and A.B.; resources, K.W. (Katarzyna Wasilewska) and K.W. (Katarzyna Winnicka); data curation, K.W. (Katarzyna Wasilewska); writing–original draft preparation, K.W. (Katarzyna Wasilewska), P.C.-S., J.L., and K.W. (Katarzyna Winnicka); writing–review and editing, K.W. (Katarzyna Wasilewska) and K.W. (Katarzyna Winnicka); visualization, K.W. (Katarzyna Wasilewska); supervision, K.W. (Katarzyna Winnicka); project administration, K.W. (Katarzyna Wasilewska) and K.W. (Katarzyna Winnicka); funding acquisition, K.W. (Katarzyna Wasilewska) and K.W. (Katarzyna Winnicka). All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was funded by Medical University of Bialystok gran<sup>t</sup> SUB/2/DN/19/004/2215. Equipment used in this study was from OP DEP 2007–2013, Priority Axis I.3, contract No. POPW.01.03.00-20-008/09, and the equipment of Center BioNanoTechno—scanning electron microscope (Inspect ™S50, FEI Company, Hillsboro, USA)—was partly supported by EU founds via project number POPW.O1.03.00-20-004/11.

**Acknowledgments:** We are thankful to the following companies: Colorcon Inc., Harleysville, PA, USA; FMC BioPolymer, Newark, NJ, USA; Merck, Darmstadt, Germany; Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan; Fuji Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., Toyama, Japan; Roquette, Lestrem, France for kindly donating materials.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.
