Drug Delivery Systems

The term “drug delivery” is truly a catch phase of the 1980s, few journals or periodicals having neglected to review the state of the art (Alper, 1984; Hildebrand, 1983; Banakar, 1984; Rogers, 1982; Check, 1984; Anderson and Kim, 1984; Zaffaroni, 1980; Inhorn, 1981; Banker and Rhodes, 1979; Senyie et al., 1985). However, although these newer concepts in drug delivery point toward a disappearance of traditional methods of drug therapy, it is likely that the bulk of pharmaceutical dosage forms, such as tablets, capsules, suspensions, and solutions for oral or parenteral use will enjoy continued wide use and acceptance. The science surrounding these dosage forms has progressed significantly in terms of the knowledge required to make better tablets, to understand the role of disintegrants, and to optimize inert ingredient ratios through sophisticated formulation design (Lachman et al., 1976; Lieberman and Lachman, 1980).