intake, stress, and illness; thus a single-unit pulsed-release system may give higher variability compared to a multiple unit system. Additionally, drug layering or core making for multiple unit systems is a time-consuming and hard-tooptimize process. Particularly challenging for fonnulation scientists has been overcoming two conflicting hurdles for pulsatile fonnulation development, i.e., lag time and rapid release.
Various enteric materials, e.g., cellulose acetate phthalate, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose phthalate, polyvinyl acetate phthalate, and the EUDRAGIT® acrylic polymers, have been used as gastroresistant, enterosoluble coatings for single drug pulse release in the intestine (3). The enteric materials, which are soluble at higher pH values, are frequently used for colon-specific delivery systems. Due to their pH-dependent attributes and the uncertainty of gastric retention time, in-vivo perfonnance as well as inter- and intra-subject variability are major issues for using enteric coated systems as a time-controlled release of drugs.
A retarding swellable hydrophilic coating has been used for oral delayed release systems (4,5). It was demonstrated that lag time was linearly correlated with coating weight gain and drug release was pH independent.
Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose barriers with erodible and/or gellable characteristics formed using press coating technology for tablet dosage fonns have been described to achieve time-programrned release of drugs (6). Barrier formulation variables, such as grade of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, water-soluble and water-insoluble excipients, significantly altered the lag time and the release rate from the center cores.
Special grades of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, e.g., METOLOSE® 60SH, 90SH (Shin-Etsu Ltd., Japan), and METHOCEL® F4M (Dow Chemical Company, USA), as a hydrophilic matrix material have been used to achieve bimodal dnig release for several drugs, i.e., aspirin, ibuprofen, and adinazolam (7). Bimodal release is characterized by a rapid initial release, followed by a period of constant release, and finalized by a second rapid drug release.
Tablets or capsules coated with a hydrophobic waxsurfactant layer, made from an aqueous dispersion of carnauba wax, beeswax, polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate, and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose have been used for rapid drug release after a predetemiined lag time. For example,. However, even though a tvvo-hour lag time was achieved for the model drug theophylline at a higher coating level (60%), three hours were required for a complete release of theophylline after the lag time. (8)
A sustained-release drug delivery system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,549. When this system is placed into dissolution medium or the gastrointestinal tract, water influx and the volume expansion of the swelling agent cause the explosion of the water penneable membrane. The drug thus releases after a predetemiined time period.
The OROS® push-pull system (Alza Company) has been developed for pulsatile delivery of water-soluble and waterinsoluble drugs ( a specific site (e.g., colon) in the gastrointestinal tract (11). The drug formulation is contained within a water-insoluble capsule body and is sealed with a hydrogel plug. Upon oral administration, the capsule cap dissolves in the gastric juice and the hydrogel plug swells. At a controlled and predetemiined time point, the swollen plug is ejected from the PULSINCAP® dosage fonn and the encapsulated drug is released. A pulsatile capsule system containing captopril with release after a nominal 5-hr period was found to perform reproducibly in dissolution and
