Malaria continues to cause substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide, with a disproportionate impact on children under five. Pediatric dosing of oral antimalarial tablets commonly requires splitting or crushing tablets to achieve weight‑adjusted doses, a practice that can increase the perception of bitterness and reduce treatment adherence. Masking the bitter taste of antimalarials may therefore improve acceptability and adherence in pediatric populations. Ion-exchange resins have been used as a taste-masking strategy; they bind ionizable drugs to form complexes that can reduce immediate taste perception while potentially releasing the drug in the gastrointestinal tract.
This study evaluated whether a chloroquine-resin complex (CLQ-R) prepared with the ion-exchange resin polacrilin potassium (Amberlite IRP88) at a 1:1 (w/w) drug-to-resin ratio could (1) mask the bitterness of chloroquine, and (2) preserve the pharmacokinetic profile and antimalarial efficacy of chloroquine diphosphate (CLQ).
CLQ-R was produced by complexing chloroquine diphosphate with polacrilin potassium (Amberlite IRP88) at a 1:1 weight ratio (drug:resin). The published abstract describes this formulation approach as the means to achieve taste masking via ion-exchange complexation. No additional formulation process parameters, analytical characterization data (for example, drug loading, release profile, particle size), or stability information are reported in the available source text.
The in vitro antimalarial activity of CLQ-R was assessed using the Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 strain. Parasite proliferation was quantified by SYBR Green DNA-staining, a widely used fluorometric assay for parasite growth. The abstract states that in vitro testing was performed but does not provide the quantitative results (such as IC50 values, percent inhibition, or comparison to uncomplexed chloroquine). Those specific efficacy data were not reported in the truncated source.
To compare systemic exposure and safety markers, the authors measured chloroquine plasma concentrations and selected biochemical parameters in mice following oral administration of either CLQ (chloroquine diphosphate) or the CLQ-R complex. The abstract explicitly reports that CLQ-R displayed similar plasma concentration and biochemical profiles to CLQ, indicating that complexation with polacrilin potassium did not substantially alter the measured plasma exposure or the biochemical parameters evaluated in this animal model.
The abstract does not specify the sampling schedule, pharmacokinetic parameters reported (for example, Cmax, AUC, Tmax, half-life), the exact biochemical tests performed, or any numerical results or statistical comparisons; those details were not reported in the available source.
In vivo efficacy was evaluated using C57BL/6 mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA. Two standard models were used: the four-day suppressive test and a recrudescence test. Parasitemia was measured by flow cytometry. The abstract indicates these efficacy models were performed to assess whether CLQ-R maintains antimalarial activity comparable to CLQ, but the truncated text does not include the outcome measures, such as percent suppression, survival data, time to recrudescence, or statistical analysis. Those efficacy results were not reported in the provided source text.
Taste perception and palatability were evaluated using a 48-hour two-bottle preference test, a behavioral assay commonly used to assess voluntary intake and preference when animals are presented with two liquid options. The intent was to determine whether CLQ-R reduces the aversive taste of chloroquine compared with uncomplexed drug. The abstract states that taste perception testing was performed but the results (for example, preference ratios, intake volumes, or statistical significance) are not present in the truncated source.
Key reported points from the available abstract:
Missing or truncated information in the source abstract (not reported):
Because the available source text is truncated, readers should consult the full published article (Int J Pharm; DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2026.127272) for complete experimental methods, full datasets, statistical analyses, and the authors' conclusions beyond the partial results reported in the abstract.