Hydrogel Drug Delivery: Diffusion Models

Bierbrauer, F (2005) Hydrogel Drug Delivery: Diffusion Models. Other. University of Wollongong. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

The delivery of drugs for pharmaceutical and medical applications is usually achieved through a variety of drug delivery systems such as injections, tablets and sprays. These systems must deliver the correct dose of the drug in an efficient manner, that is: a controlled delivery which maintains the optimal concentration within the bloodstream in order to be therapeutically effective for reasonable periods of time. Typically, such delivery systems produce an initial rise of drug concentration reaching a peak after which it falls off so that another dose is required to maintain drug effectiveness. At times this concentration may rise above the maximum therapeutic range, into the possibly toxic, while at others it falls below the minimum therapeutic level making the drug ineffective. The ability to release the drug at therapeutically effective levels and maintain these levels for longer periods of time while avoiding such oscillatory behaviour is one of the objectives of a controlled release system. This allows the drug to be administered in a single dose while reducing the possibility of side effects. This requires the design of new systems with an understanding of their release behaviour while optimising their release kinetics. The majority of controlled release devices consist of drugs dispersed within a polymeric carrier, commonly hydrogels.