Pulsatile drug-delivery systems

Crit Rev Ther Drug Carrier Syst. 2001;18(5):433-58.

Abstract

Delivery systems with a pulsatile-release pattern are receiving increasing interest for the development of drugs for which conventional controlled drug-release systems with a continuous release are not ideal. These drugs often have a high first-pass effect or special chronopharmacological needs. A pulsatile-release profile is characterized by a time period of no release (lag time) followed by a rapid and complete drug release. Pulsatile drug-delivery systems can be classified into site-specific systems in which the drug is released at the desired site within the intestinal tract (e.g., the colon), or time-controlled devices in which the drug is released after a well-defined time period. Site-controlled release is usually controlled by environmental factors, like the pH or enzymes present in the intestinal tract, whereas the drug release from time-controlled systems is controlled primarily by the delivery system and, ideally, not by the environment. This review covers various single- and multiple-unit oral pulsatile drug-delivery systems with an emphasis on time-controlled drug-release systems.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Oral
  • Biopharmaceutics / methods*
  • Capsules
  • Chronotherapy / methods
  • Colon / enzymology
  • Delayed-Action Preparations / administration & dosage
  • Delayed-Action Preparations / pharmacokinetics
  • Drug Carriers
  • Drug Delivery Systems / methods*
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Prodrugs / administration & dosage
  • Prodrugs / pharmacokinetics

Substances

  • Capsules
  • Delayed-Action Preparations
  • Drug Carriers
  • Prodrugs