Micropellets coated with Kollicoat^® Smartseal 30D for taste masking in liquid oral dosage forms

The objective of this study was to develop delivery systems for taste masking based on multiparticulates coated with Kollicoat^® Smartseal 30D formulated as liquid oral suspensions. Coating of particles containing bitter drugs with Kollicoat^® Smartseal reduced drug leaching into aqueous medium, especially when increasing pH, therefore can be used for the formulation of liquid dosage forms. Application of an intermediate layer of ion exchange resins between drug layer and coating can further decrease drug leaching into aqueous vehicle that is beneficial in terms of taste masking. Using optimized compositions of liquid vehicles such as addition of sugar alcohols and ion exchange resin, reconstitutable or ready-to-use liquid dosage forms with micropellets can be developed with bitter taste protection after redispersion lasting longer than 3 weeks, which exceeds the usual period of application.