2012 Volume 60 Issue 12 Pages 1514-1521
Pyridostigmine bromide (PTB) is a highly soluble and extremely bitter drug. Here, an economic complexation technology combined with direct tablet compression method has been developed to meet the requirements of a patient friendly dosage known as taste-masked dispersible tablets loaded PTB (TPDPTs): (1) TPDPTs should have optimal disintegration and good physical resistance (hardness); (2) a low-cost, simple but practical preparation method suitable for industrial production is preferred from a cost perspective. Physicochemical properties of the inclusion complex of PTB with beta-cyclodextrin were investigated by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and UV spectroscopy. An orthogonal design was chosen to properly formulate TPDPTs. All volunteers regarded acceptable bitterness of TPDPTs. The properties including disintegration time, weight variation, friability, hardness, dispersible uniformity and drug content of TPDPTs were evaluated. The dissolution profile of TPDPTs in distilled water exhibited a fast rate. Pharmacokinetic results demonstrated that TPDPTs and the commercial tablets were bioequivalent.