Pulsatile Drug Delivery System: An Overview with Special Emphasis on Losartan and Captopril

Abstract

In the current scenario of pharmaceutical research much attention has been focused on patients’ health in terms of therapeutic efficacy and safety so keeping this thing in mind, the objective of the study is to make an attempt to control the tradition of prescribing the doses of medication throughout a period of 24 hours as different researches have given the idea of administration of medications with day-night pattern and biological rhythms to reduce the dose frequency. Pulsatile drug delivery system is designed according to the circadian rhythm of the body, and the drug is released rapidly and completely as a pulse after a lag time. Products follow the sigmoid release profile characterized by a time period. This delivery system follow chronopharmacological behavior, where night-time dosing is required, and for drugs that show the first-pass effect. This review article was designed to throw light on marketed techniques of pulsatile drug delivery and to investigate the pulsatile release of Losantan and Captopril, based on chronotherapeutic consideration. The principle rationale for the use of pulsatile release of the drugs is where a constant drug release is not required and drug delivery should be such that there is complete drug release after a lag time. Lag time is defined as the time between when a dosage form is placed into an aqueous environment and the time at which the active ingredient begins to get released from the dosage form. This article focuses on the importance of pulsatile drug delivery system along with the study of different pulsatile release dosage forms containing Losartan (ARB-Angiotensin Receptor Blocker) and Captopril (ACE inhibitor-Angiotensin Converting Enzyme inhibitor).