title: Patented pulsatile drug delivery technologies for chronotherapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Oral-controlled and modified-release drug delivery systems with zero-order sustained-release kinetics have been developed and proven suitable for meeting increasingly sophisticated therapeutic needs. Nevertheless, the impact of basic chronobiology concepts on the practice of medicine is still ongoing and to address chronotherapy needs, various types of pulsatile drug delivery systems have been innovated. The purpose of this review is to highlight these innovations in the field of chronotherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present review discusses in depth on recent patents and developments related to pulsatile drug delivery systems with eroding, soluble or rupturable barrier coatings, and systems with capsular structures. Besides focusing on all recent innovations, the review addresses the novelty and feasibility of all upcoming technologies being exploited considering pulsatile drug delivery systems.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There has been a growing interest in pulsatile delivery, which generally refers to the liberation of drugs following a programmable and well-defined lag phase from the time of administration. From 1981 until the present date, patent publications related to pulsatile drug delivery have shown more promising systems with numerous developments in arena of drug delivery. Future development of chronotherapeutic medications requires proper assessment and integration with other emerging disciplines such as hydrogel and transdermal delivery systems. The selection of the appropriate chronopharmaceutical technology should take into considerations with the ease of manufacturing and the cost-effectiveness.
authors.affiliation: Sainath University, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences , Ranchi , India.
authors.forename: Sumit S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Patil
authors.forename: Aliasgar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shahiwala
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D055870:Drug Chronotherapy; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D010330:Patents as Topic; D013678:Technology, Pharmaceutical / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations
keywords: chronobiology; chronotherapy; pulsatile drug delivery