Prodrugs taste improvement

Buccal delivery of opioid analgesics and antagonists can improve bioavailability relative to the oral route. Esterification of the 3-pheno-lic hydroxyl group in opioid analgesics such as nalbuphine, naloxone, naltrexone, oxymorphone, butorphanol, and levallorphan improved bioavailability and eliminated the bitter taste. The prodrug of morphine,... 

Oral drugs with a markedly bitter taste may lead to poor patient compliance if administered as a solution or syrup. The prodrug approach has been used to improve the taste of chloramphenicol (20), clindamycin, erythromycin, and metronidazole.19 A prodrug such as chloramphenicol palmitate (21), with LogP of around 10, does not dissolve in an appreciable amount in the mouth and, therefore, does not interact with the taste receptors. 

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