Utilising Co-Axial Electrospinning as a Taste-Masking Technology for Paediatric Drug Delivery

The present study describes the use of two taste-masking polymers to fabricate a formulation of chlorpheniramine maleate for paediatric administration. Co-axial electrospinning was utilized to create layered nanofibres; the two polymers, Eudragit^® E PO and Kollicoat^® Smartseal, were alternated between the core and the shell of the system in order to identify the optimum taste-masked formulation.

The drug was loaded in the core on all occasions. It was found that the formulation with Kollicoat^® Smartseal in the core with the drug, and Eudragit^® E PO in the shell showed the most effective taste-masking compared to the other formulations. These fibres were in the nano-range and had smooth morphology as verified by scanning electron microscopy. Solid-state characterization and thermal analysis confirmed that amorphous solid dispersions were formed upon electrospinning.

The Insent E-tongue was used to assess the taste-masking efficiency of the samples, and it was found that this formulation was undetectable by the bitter sensor, indicating successful taste-masking compared to the raw version of the drug. The E-tongue also confirmed the drug’s bitterness threshold as compared to quinine HCl dihydrate, a parameter that is useful for formulation design and taste-masking planning.

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Article information: Abdelhakim, H.E.; Coupe, A.; Tuleu, C.; Edirisinghe, M.; Craig, D.Q.M. Utilising Co-Axial Electrospinning as a Taste-Masking Technology for Paediatric Drug Delivery. Pharmaceutics 2021, 13, 1665. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics13101665