Strategies to design push-pull osmotic systems for delivering low and pH-dependent soluble drugs

Abstract

In the recent years, novel oral drug delivery systems have been recognized as an attractive niche for pharmaceutical industry. Among these systems, controlledrelease formulations have been developed based on their significant advantages over conventional immediate release dosage forms, such as the decrease of dosing frequency, the increase of patient compliance, better dosing patterns, the reduction of side effects, or the maintenance of the drug concentration within a desired range, i.e, an overall improved therapeutic benefit. However, oral controlled release formulations are exposed to changing environment during transit through the GI-tract which may affect their performances e.g. physiological factors such as patient age or food-intake. Reported as releasing drug independently of these factors, oral osmotically-driven systems (OODS) have taken an increasing place in the MR field. Using osmotic pressure as driving force, various OODS designs and compositions have been developed and launched...