Evaluation of Chlorpheniramine Maleate microparticles in orally disintegrating film and orally disintegrating tablet for pediatrics

Objective: To mask the bitterness of Chlorpheniramine Maleate via encapsulating drug into Eudragit EPO microparticles, and then incorporate these microparticles into orally disintegrating films (ODF) and orally disintegrating tablets (ODT) for pediatric uses. Methods: Spray drying of water-in-oil emulsion was utilized to encapsulate Chlorpheniramine Maleate into Eudragit EPO microparticles. Based on an orthogonal experimental design L-9 (3(3)), polynomial regression models were developed to evaluate correlation between microparticle properties (encapsulation efficiency and drug release) and variables (X-1: weight ratio of polymer to drug, X-2: volume ratio of oil to water and X-3: Q-flow of spray dryer). ODF and ODT formulations were evaluated including weight variation, content uniformity, tensile strength, disintegration time, friability and dissolution profiles. The bitterness taste test was evaluated in 10 adult volunteers. Results and discussion: From polynomial regression analysis, the best values of variables leading to the optimized microparticles were X-1 = 10, X-2 = 3 and X-3 = 45. The optimized microparticles were incorporated into ODF and ODT with satisfactory weight and drug content uniformity, and acceptable physical strength. Both dosage forms disintegrated immediately (less than 40 s) in simulated saliva solutions. The outcome of taste-masking test indicated that microparticles alleviated drug bitterness significantly; bitterness was not discernible with microparticles incorporated in ODT, whereas only slight bitterness was detected from microparticles incorporated into ODF. Conclusion: Both ODF and ODT are shown to be suitable vehicles for taste masked Chlorpheniramine Maleate microparticles with potential for pediatric uses.