Desenvolvimento de Beads gelatinosos contendo Praziquantel como forma de melhorar a administração do fármaco em pacientes pediátricos

Abstract

The bitter taste associated with the absence of pediatric dosage forms are some of the main problems in administering drugs to pediatric patients. In the case of praziquantel, a drug used in the treatment of schistosomiasis, the lack of appropriate presentations for children makes the treatment and prevention of the disease difficult. One of the possible solutions to the problem is to produce dosage forms that mask the bitter taste and that have an adequate size for administration in pediatric patients. Gelatin is an excipient widely used and known by the pharmaceutical industry, although its use is still small when compared to other options available on the market, it is already possible to observe formulations derived from gelatin to which vitamins and drugs are added. Therefore, the present work aims to develop beads with adequate size and pleasant taste for administration in pediatric patients. Three formulations were prepared with different amounts of glycerin and gelatin, which were subsequently dripped into a previously chosen solvent, in order to generate beads, following the principle of the “spray congealing” technique. Subsequently, these were washed and dried and underwent a quality control process in which size, weight, loss on drying, dosing, disintegration and dissolution profile, macroscopic characteristics, flavor were evaluated and compared between them, in order to conclude which more appropriate to what was initially intended. Among all those produced, the Beads from the third formulation (Beads 3) were the ones that came closest to what was initially proposed, although there are still characteristics that need to be improved, the progress that has been achieved is already promising, serving as a basis for future work. that may be carried out in order to improve the administration of drugs with an unpleasant taste in pediatric patients.