title: Multiparticulate formulation approach to pulsatile drug delivery: current perspectives.
abstract: In the body under physiological conditions, many vital functions are regulated by transient release of bioactive substances at a specific time and site. Thus, to mimic the function of living systems and in view of emerging chronotherapeutic approaches, pulsatile delivery, which is meant to release a drug following programmed lag phase, has attracted increasing interest in recent years. In pursuit of pulsatile release, various design strategies have been proposed, broadly categorized into single-unit and multiple-unit systems. However, in recent pharmaceutical applications involving pulsatile delivery, multiparticulate dosage forms are gaining much favor over single-unit dosage forms because of their potential benefits like predictable gastric emptying, no risk of dose dumping, flexible release patterns and increased bioavailability with less inter- and intra-subject variability. Based on these premises, the aim of the present review is to survey the main multiparticulate pulsatile delivery systems, for which the swelling and rupturing; dissolution or erosion; and changed permeability of the coating membrane are primarily involved in the control of release. The development of low density floating multiparticulate pulsed-release dosage forms possessing gastric retention capabilities has also been addressed with increasing focus on the upcoming multiparticulate-pulsatile technologies being exploited on an industrial scale.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Ahmedabad. C/o. B.V. Patel Pharmaceutical Education and Research Development Centre, Ahmedabad, India. pallab_niperahm@ymail.com
authors.forename: Pallab
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: Aliasgar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shahiwala
mesh_terms: D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical / Q000379:methods*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers