Recent trends in pulsatile drug delivery systems - A review

The purpose of writing this review on pulsatile drug delivery systems (PDDS) is to compile the recent literatures with special focus on the different types and approaches involved in the development of the formulation. PDDS are gaining importance in the field of pharmaceutical technology as these systems deliver the right dose at specific time at a specific site. Some of the disease conditions wherein PDDS are promising include duodenal ulcer, cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, asthma, diabetes, neurological disorder, cancer, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. PDDS can be classified into time controlled systems wherein the drug release is controlled primarily by the delivery system, stimuli induced PDDS in which release is controlled by the stimuli, such as the pH or enzymes present in the intestinal tract or enzymes present in the drug delivery system and externally regulated system where release is programmed by external stimuli like magnetism, ultrasound, electrical effect and irradiation. This review also summarizes some current PDDS already available in the market. These systems are useful to several problems encountered during the development of a pharmaceutical dosage form. Keywords: Pulsatile drug delivery systems; Circadian rhythm; Single unit, Multiple units, Pulsatile release pulsincap