ABSTRACT
The pharmaceutical applications of polymeric materials encompass many diverse areas. Perhaps the oldest examples are enteric coatings of orally ingested drugs and time-release preparations. Once a drug reaches the circulation, its absorption is influenced by many factors, including solubility, rate of dissolution, concentration, local circulation, area of absorbing surface, and the route of administration. In the simple one-compartment model, it is assumed that the distribution of a drug is rapid and relatively uniform in the body and faster than absorption and elimination. Simple dose-effect curves are characterized by three major variables: potency, efficacy, and biological variations. In the simplest osmotic pump drug delivery system, the core consists of a compacted, crystalline, solid, water-soluble drug. Drugs can be entrapped also in a matrix of microbeads made from glutaraldehyde-cross-linked serum albumin and injected intramuscularly or subcutaneously in animals without apparently causing adverse immunological reactions.
