Pulsatile Drug Delivery Release Technologies: an Overview

Pulsatile Drug delivery systems are gaining a lot of interest as they deliver the drug at the right site of action, at the right time and in the right amount, as per the pathophysiological needs of the diseases, resulting in increasing patient compliance. Pulsatile Drug Delivery systems are basically time-controlled drug delivery systems in which the system controls the lag time independent of environmental factors like pH, enzymes, GIT motility, etc. Various techniques are available for the pulsatile delivery like pH dependent systems, time dependent systems, etc. These systems are designed for chronopharmacotherapy which is based on the circadian rhythm of the body. The major challenge in the development of pulsatile drug delivery system is to achieve a rapid drug release after the lag time. A pulse has to be generated in such a way that a complete and rapid drug release is achieved after the lag time so as to match body’s circadian rhythms with the release of drugs. Many of circadian dependent diseases display acute symptoms in early morning hours or in the morning at awakening. In case of cardiovascular diseases, BP is at its lowest during the sleep cycle and rises steeply during the early morning period. Pulsatile release systems can be classified in multiple-pulse and single-pulse systems. A popular class of single-pulse systems is that of rupturable dosage forms. Advantages of the pulsatile drug delivery system are reduced dose frequency; reduce side effects, drug targeting to specific site like colon and many more. Now in market varies technologies of pulsatile drug delivery system like Pulsincap, Diffucaps etc. are launched by pharmaceutical companies.