Abstract Although sensory and consumer science methods may have originated in the food and beverage industries, they have widespread application for many other products, including fast moving consumer goods, personal care, and more recently, pharmaceuticals. Here, we present the later as a case study, showing how sensory methods can be applied to preclinical optimization of drug delivery systems. Past clinical trials suggest vaginal microbicides may be an effective means for women to protect themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs); critically however, these microbicides will not work if they are not used due to poor acceptability. Multiple factors influence microbicide acceptability, including product features as well as cultural and social factors. In an iterative process, we developed soft-gel vaginal suppositories and have shown that properties like firmness, size, and shape all influence women’s willingness to try. However, our prior work was conducted among white women in a rural setting, so we revisited these questions in women of color using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Here, women of color evaluated suppositories of different fracturability, firmness, size, and shape. We assessed willingness to try and imagined ease of insertion, and used Just About Right (JAR) scales to measure appropriateness of firmness and size. To better understand reasons underlying these quantitative results, qualitative reactions to suppositories of different sizes, shapes, and firmness level were obtained via focus groups with women of color. This work illustrates a) how sensory and consumer science methods can be used to optimize acceptability of drug delivery systems, and b) how mixed methods provide more complete insights than purely quantitative approaches.

中文翻译：

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在药物输送系统优化中使用感官和消费者科学：有色人种女性的混合方法作为案例研究

摘要 尽管感官和消费者科学方法可能起源于食品和饮料行业，但它们已广泛应用于许多其他产品，包括快速消费品、个人护理以及最近的药品。在这里，我们将后者作为案例研究，展示如何将感官方法应用于药物递送系统的临床前优化。过去的临床试验表明，阴道杀菌剂可能是女性保护自己免受 HIV 和其他性传播感染 (STI) 的有效手段；然而，至关重要的是，如果由于可接受性差而没有使用这些杀微生物剂，它们将无法发挥作用。多种因素影响杀菌剂的可接受性，包括产品特性以及文化和社会因素。在一个迭代的过程中，我们开发了软凝胶阴道栓剂，并表明硬度、大小和形状等特性都会影响女性尝试的意愿。然而，我们之前的工作是在农村环境中的白人女性中进行的，因此我们使用定量和定性方法重新审视了有色人种女性的这些问题。在这里，有色人种女性评估了不同易碎性、硬度、大小和形状的栓剂。我们评估了尝试和想象插入容易程度的意愿，并使用恰到好处 (JAR) 量表来衡量硬度和尺寸的适当性。为了更好地理解这些定量结果背后的原因，通过有色人种女性的焦点小组获得了对不同尺寸、形状和硬度水平的栓剂的定性反应。