title: Pulsatile drug-delivery systems.
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.
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bussemer
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Otto
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bodmeier
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D001702:Biopharmaceutics / Q000379:methods*; D002214:Capsules; D019454:Chronotherapy / Q000379:methods; D003106:Colon / Q000201:enzymology; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D004337:Drug Carriers; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D011355:Prodrugs / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics
chemical_list: D002214:Capsules; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D004337:Drug Carriers; D011355:Prodrugs