Taste-masking of efavirenz through microencapsulation
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Date
2021
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Western Cape
Abstract
It is a well-known fact that a significant gap exists in the development of child-friendly
dosage forms, detrimentally affecting paediatric patient compliance, especially in the treatment of
debilitating diseases such as human-immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Although not
recommended as first-line treatment, efavirenz (EFV) still forms part of the South African
Department of Health’s treatment regimen for HIV-infected children. EFV is however an extremely
bitter-tasting drug, known to cause “burning-mouth” syndrome and therefore paediatric patient
compliance related to EFV dosage forms has generally proven low partly due to poor palatability.
A multitude of taste-masking strategies may be applied in an effort to alleviate this factor. One of
these strategies, which is well-known and more widely applied in food sciences than in
pharmaceutical sciences, is that of compound microencapsulation through spray-drying and ionic
gelation. In this study the potential of utilizing EFV-loaded microcapsules obtained via spray-drying
and EFV-loaded calcium-alginate beads obtained via ionic gelation as possible taste-masking
strategies were investigated.
Description
Magister Pharmaceuticae - MPharm
Keywords
Paediatric drug development, Taste-masking, Spray-drying, Ionic gelation, HIV infection