COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW ON PULSATILE DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM

Abstract

Oral controlled drug delivery systems represent the most popular form of controlled drug delivery systems for the obvious advantages of oral route of drug administration. However, there are certain conditions for which such a release pattern is not suitable like cardiovascular diseases, Diabetes mellitus, Asthma, Arthritis, Peptic ulcer etc. In such cases pulsatile drug delivery system is used in which release drug on programmed pattern i.e. at appropriate time & at appropriate site of action. Pulsatile Drug Delivery systems are basically time controlled drug delivery systems in which the system controls the lag time independent of environmental factors like pH, enzymes, gastrointestinal motility, etc. The principle rationale for the use of pulsatile release is for the drugs where a constant drug release, i.e., a zero-order release is not desired. In chronopharmaco therapy drug administration is synchronized with biological rhythms to produce maximal therapeutic effect & minimum harm for the patient. Technically, pulsatile drug delivery systems administered via the oral route could be divided into two distinct types, the time   systems and the site-specific delivery systems, thus providing special and temporal delivery. In recent pharmaceutical applications involving pulsatile delivery; multiparticulate dosage forms (e.g. pellets) are gaining much favor over single-unit dosage forms. Designing of proper pulsatile drug delivery will enhance the patient compliance, optimum drug delivery to the target side & minimizing the undesired effects.

KEY WORDS: Pulsatile Drug Delivery, Chronotherapeutics, Time Controlled Systems, pH target release.