The technical feasibility of utilizing tampons as a drug delivery system for prolonged intravaginal drug administrations was studied. Several commercially available brands of tampons were examined. The methodology for the incorporation of various doses of metronidazole, an antitrichomonas agent, in tampons was described. The sustained-release profile of metronidazole from these medicated tampons was characterized. Intravaginal administration of metronidazole via the medicated tampons was investigated in rhesus monkeys and human volunteers, and in vitro-in vivo correlations were established. The biopharmaceutics of intravaginal absorption of metronidazole via medicated tampons was analyzed in comparison with a vaginal solution formulation.