Most of the medicine substances exhibit strong bitter taste, that can negatively influence patient attitude to realized therapy. A special attention is given to taste of drugs devoted to small children, because it is essential for this group of patients. Pediatric orally taken drugs should be liquid, easily to be measured by volume and without taste that cause vomit reaction. Moreover, they cannot exhibit pleasant flavor, in order to prevent overdosing.  One of taste masking methods of medicines, also changing its releasing profile,  is the covering particles consisting heal substances.

Electronic tongue can be one of diagnostic technique, that allows for repeatable in vitro taste analysis. It’s a device simulating human sense of taste, that allows identification and classification of liquid samples. Usually, these systems are not used for selective chemical compound detection, but to the recognition of sample properties. Taste is not linearly dependent from chemical composition, and particular relations between compounds are not obvious although, there are some known relations, however like bitter taste masking effect by some sweet taste substances.  

In this paper Ion-Selective Electrode (ISE) array was applied to the analysis of drug substances with and without taste modification. Classic ion-selective electrodes with selectivity towards lipophilic cations and anions, Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, NH₄⁺, amines and carbonate ions were used in stationary mode of measurement. Sensors signals created chemical image of pure medicine samples (Roxithromycin and Ibuprofen) and medicines, which taste was masked by Eudragite and Hypromellose. Thanks to Principal Component Analysis (PCA, Figure 1) it was possible to distinguish medicine samples by the presence of changing-taste substance criterion/standard.  It was noted that modification by Eudragite caused similar change on Roxithromycin and Ibuprofen. The obtained results showed, that electronic tongue can be used for analysis of masking effects in drugs.    

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This work has been supported by the European Union in the framework of European Social Fund through the Warsaw University of Technology Development Programme and by Project MNS-DIAG Nr POIG.01.03.01-00-014/08-00.

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