Dry Suspension Containing Coated Pellets with pH-Dependent Drug Release Behavior for the Taste-masking of Azithromycin

Azithromycin (AZI) is a commonly used antibiotic with extremely bitter taste that severely decreases the compliance of patients. Besides, the poor solubility of AZI in alkaline pH makes it difficult to be absorbed in the small intestine. To achieve the dual effects of taste masking and enhanced absorption, AZI-loaded pellets were coated by polymer blend of Eudragit (R) RL30D and Eudragit (R) L30D-55. The coated pellets could avoid drug release in the oral environment (pH 5-7) but release rapidly in the gastric environment (pH 1-3). Then, the coated pellets were further formulated into dry suspension to address the problem of dysphagia. The taste-masking effect tests by electronic tongue and human volunteers revealed that the dry suspension was more effective to improve the bitter taste of AZI than the commercial product. Therefore, this study provided an economical and feasible approach for taste masking with good practical application prospect.