Controlled delivery systems of drugs are prepared from synthetic or natural materials in combination with a drug or an active ingredient to allow their release in a default. The release may be constant, cyclic, or through changes in the physiological environment or an external event. The development of new drug delivery systems that are capable of controlling the release of drugs to specific sites in the body has attracted considerable attention.
Early biomaterials were selected mainly for their desirable physical properties and not for delivery of active ingredients in biological systems. In recent years, however, new systems have been prepared from natural materials that are biocompatible and resistant to chemical and enzymatic attack in a live environment.
Today, microencapsulation and controlled-release technologies are finding broad application not only in the pharmaceutical industry but also for transplantation and regeneration medicine, for example, scaffoldbased drug delivery for tissue engineering. The advantages of using controlled delivery systems in the aforementioned applications is primarily the maintenance of drug levels within defined ranges, in a localized manner while maintaining overall biocompatibility. Possible disadvantages, however, include the high cost of controlled-release systems, potential toxicity, or non-biocompatibility of the materials used.
This book is targeted toward scientists and engineers in industry, government, and academia who are interested in the development of novel drug delivery systems and regeneration technologies from natural materials. An understanding of physicochemical changes and how such changes affect the performance of the drug or active ingredient will allow researchers to develop formulations with optimized performance.
This volume was developed from a symposium presented at the 2005 International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies sponsored by the American Chemical Society Division of Macromolecular Chemistry in Honolulu, Hawaii, December 15-20, 2005.
Early biomaterials were selected mainly for their desirable physical properties and not for delivery of active ingredients in biological systems. In recent years, however, new systems have been prepared from natural materials that are biocompatible and resistant to chemical and enzymatic attack in a live environment.
Today, microencapsulation and controlled-release technologies are finding broad application not only in the pharmaceutical industry but also for transplantation and regeneration medicine, for example, scaffoldbased drug delivery for tissue engineering. The advantages of using controlled delivery systems in the aforementioned applications is primarily the maintenance of drug levels within defined ranges, in a localized manner while maintaining overall biocompatibility. Possible disadvantages, however, include the high cost of controlled-release systems, potential toxicity, or non-biocompatibility of the materials used.
This book is targeted toward scientists and engineers in industry, government, and academia who are interested in the development of novel drug delivery systems and regeneration technologies from natural materials. An understanding of physicochemical changes and how such changes affect the performance of the drug or active ingredient will allow researchers to develop formulations with optimized performance.
This volume was developed from a symposium presented at the 2005 International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies sponsored by the American Chemical Society Division of Macromolecular Chemistry in Honolulu, Hawaii, December 15-20, 2005.
