Development and physicochemical characterization of clindamycin resinate for taste masking in pediatrics

Research Progress of Preparation Technology of Ion-Exchange Resin Complexes

As insoluble polymer materials, ion-exchange resins (IERs) can exchange their own ions with desirable charged ions in the solution. According to the affinity of active moieties for soluble counterions, IERs could be categorized into the following four types: strongly acidic cation, weakly acidic cation, strongly basic anion, and weakly basic anion exchange resins. Due to their relative safety and high drug-loading capacity, IERs have garnered extensive attention in the pharmaceutical field since the 1950s. As numerous investigations combine drugs with IERs, this article summarizes the technologies employed in these studies from four aspects: IER screening principles, combining technologies, characterization methods, and in vitro and in vivo release of drug-resinate complexes. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of various technologies and their scope are expounded. The article provides new insights on the preparation of ion-exchange resin complexes.

Optimization of entrapment efficiency and release of clindamycin in microsponge based gel

The aim of the present study was to formulate clindamycin (CLN) as a microsponge based gel to release the drug in a controlled manner and reduce the side effects in the treatment of acne. Since this method requires poor water solubility of the drug to be loaded in particles, therefore, conversion of the hydrochloride salt to free base was done. By using an emulsion solvent diffusion method, we made six different formulations of microsponges containing CLN-free base by changing the proportions of polymer, emulsifier and the pH of the external phase. These formulations were studied for physical characterization and for drug- polymer interactions. The physical characterization showed that microsponge formulations coded by C5, C6 resulted in a better loading efficiency and production yield and their particle size was less than 30 µm. Scanning electron microscopy images showed the microsponges porous and spherical. C5, C6 microsponge formulation was prepared as gel in Carbopol and in vitro evaluated. The microsponge formulation gel C8 was found to be optimized. C8 released 90.38% of drug over 12 h and showed viscosity 20,157 ± 38 cp, pH of 6.3 ± 0.09 and drug content of 99.64 ± 0.04%. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry confirmed no significant interactions between excipients and drug.

Comparative taste-masking evaluation of microencapsulated bitter drugs using Smartseal 30D and ReadyMix for paediatric dosage forms

The taste of drug substances plays a key role in the development of paediatric formulations with suitable organoleptic properties. The aim of the study was to evaluate the taste masking effectiveness of Smartseal 30D and ReadyMix on a range of bitter drug substances such as diphenhydramine HCl (DPD), ibuprofen lysine (IBU-LS), and phenylephrine HCl (PPH) for the development of paediatric dosage forms. The drugs were microencapsulated in the polymer carriers at 10-20% loadings using spray-drying processing. Spray drying of drug formulations was optimized in terms of percent yield and encapsulation efficiency followed by physicochemical characterization in order to identify the drugs' physical state in the polymer microparticles. The in vivo taste masking efficiency was evaluated using human test panel and showed noticeable reduction of drug's bitterness at all loadings in comparison to the bulk substances.

Optimization of taste-masked dapoxetine oral thin films using factorial design: in vitro and in vivo evaluation

Dapoxetine HCl is used for the treatment of premature ejaculation. Dapoxetine is primarily metabolized in the liver and kidney and its metabolites are inactive; resulting in reduced bioavailability. Also, one of the commonly encountered issues in the oral dapoxetine formulae is its bitter taste. Thus, the objective of this study was to develop and to optimize novel dapoxetine taste-masked oral thin films (OTFs), to offer a faster dissolution rate, rapid release pattern, lower liver metabolism, and better patient compliance. To achieve our goal, the applicability of either pullulan or maltodextrin as strip forming polymers were investigated in the preparation of (OTFs), while glycerol was used as a plasticizer. Also, the physicochemical characteristics of dapoxetine in a resinate complex with AmberLite^TM -IRP69 as taste masking were evaluated. Furthermore, a 2³ factorial design was used to study and to optimize the effect of the independent variables (strip forming polymer (X₁), glycerol (X₂) and AmberLite^TM (X₃) amounts) on the disintegration time (Y₁), degree of elongation (Y₂), and degree of in vitro drug release in phosphate buffer pH 6.8 at 5 minutes (Q5min, Y₃) as responses. P2 batch (OTF) (pullulan 96 mg, glycerol 12 mg, AmberLite^TM 32 mg, and dapoxetine 30 mg) was identified as an optimized formulation showing an in vitro disintegration time 9.33 s, 35.56% elongation, and 91.43% Q5min; excellent in vivo disintegration time; good overall taste acceptability and stable resinate complex.

Development and evaluation of orally disintegrating tablets containing the mosapride resin complex

The purpose of this study was to prepare a mosapride citrate-resin (Amberlite® IRP 88) complex and orally fast-disintegrating tablets of the resin complex. The resinate complex of mosapride-Amberlite® IRP 88, mass ratio 2:1, was prepared in an ethanol-water solution. The effects of alcohol concentration, temperature, and pH of the solution on complex formation were evaluated. The complex physicochemical properties were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Orally disintegrating tablets were prepared by direct compression and were optimized using the response surface method. Optimized orally fast-disintegrating tablets disintegrated within 18 s. The pH dependence of mosapride release from the tablet decreased drug dissolution in simulated saliva, whereas it promptly released in the pH 1.0 solution. The data reported herein clearly demonstrate that tablets containing the mosapride-Amberlite® IRP 88 complex for oral disintegration could be particularly useful for patients with swallowing difficulties.

Preparation and Evaluation of Taste Masking Iron Suspension: Taking Advantage of Weak Cationic Exchange Resin

The objective of this study is to use weak acid cation exchange resin to mask the taste and eliminate the teeth staining problems of ferrous sulfate liquid preparations for use in pediatrics. Amberlite IPR64 was loaded by Fe(II). Then, different suspensions of the iron-resin complex were prepared using various polymers as the suspending agents, and sorbitol as well as sucrose as sweeteners. Physical stability, rheological assessment, kinetics of Fe(II) release, and taste evaluation of suspensions were studied. The results implied that the prepared iron suspension was more stable when xanthan gum is used as the suspending agent. It was also shown that iron release in 0.7% NaCl (similar to saliva) was very negligible compared to relatively quick release in acidic medium (resembled the stomach). Overall, the volunteers confirmed that the formulations were successful in iron taste masking. The pH-dependent process of ion exchange by weak cationic resins opens an attractive approach to access a taste-masked iron suspension for infants.

Design and characterization of clindamycin-loaded nanofiber patches composed of polyvinyl alcohol and tamarind seed gum and fabricated by electrohydrodynamic atomization

In this study, we developed a polymeric nanofiber patch (PNP) for topical disease treatment using electrohydrodynamic atomization (EHDA). The nanofibers were prepared using various concentrations of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and tamarind seed gum and loaded with clindamycin HCl as a model drug. The precursor polymer solutions were sprayed using the EHDA technique; the EHDA processing parameters were optimized to obtain blank and drug-loaded PNPs. The skin adherence, translucence, and ventilation properties of the prepared PNPs indicated that they are appropriate for topical application. The conductivity of the polymer solution increased with increasing PVA and clindamycin concentrations, and increasing the PVA concentration enhanced the solution viscosity. Based on scanning electron microscopy analysis, the PVA concentration had a pronounced effect on the morphology of the sprayed product. Nanofibers were fabricated successfully when the solution PVA concentration was 10%, 13%, or 15% (w/v). The applied voltage significantly affected the diameters of the prepared nanofibers, and the minimum nanofiber diameter was 163.86 nm. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction analyses indicated that the model drug was dispersed in PVA in an amorphous form. The PNP prepared with a PVA:gum ratio of 9:1 absorbed water better than the PVA-only PNP and the PNP with a PVA:gum ratio of 9.5:0.5. Moreover, the PNPs loaded with clindamycin at concentrations of 1%–3% prohibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus more effectively than clindamycin gel, a commercially available product.

Investigation of Drug-Polymer Compatibility Using Chemometric-Assisted UV-Spectrophotometry

A simple chemometric-assisted UV-spectrophotometric method was used to study the compatibility of clindamycin hydrochloride (HC1) with two commonly used natural controlled-release polymers, alginate (Ag) and chitosan (Ch). Standard mixtures containing 1:1, 1:2, and 1:0.5 w/w drug-polymer ratios were prepared and UV scanned. A calibration model was developed with partial least square (PLS) regression analysis for each polymer separately. Then, test mixtures containing 1:1 w/w drug-polymer ratios with different sets of drug concentrations were prepared. These were UV scanned initially and after three and seven days of storage at 25 °C. Using the calibration model, the drug recovery percent was estimated and a decrease in concentration of 10% or more from initial concentration was considered to indicate instability. PLS models with PC3 (for Ag) and PC2 (for Ch) showed a good correlation between actual and found values with root mean square error of cross validation (RMSECV) of 0.00284 and 0.01228, and calibration coefficient (R²) values of 0.996 and 0.942, respectively. The average drug recovery percent after three and seven days was 98.1 ± 2.9 and 95.4 ± 4.0 (for Ag), and 97.3 ± 2.1 and 91.4 ± 3.8 (for Ch), which suggests more drug compatibility with an Ag than a Ch polymer. Conventional techniques including DSC, XRD, FTIR, and in vitro minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for (1:1) drug-polymer mixtures were also performed to confirm clindamycin compatibility with Ag and Ch polymers.