ABSTRACT
Controlled delivery of drugs, proteins, and other bioactive agents can be achieved by incorpo rating them, either in dissolved or dispersed form, in polymers (1,2). In the development of con trolled release systems, mathematical modeling of the release process plays a significant role as it establishes the mechanism(s) of drug (solute) release and provides more general guidelines for the development of other systems. It is well accepted that numerous successful controlled delivery systems have been developed as a result of an almost arbitrary selection of compo nents, configurations, and geometries. Yet development of advanced controlled release systems is increasingly dependent on judicious application of the fundamentals of solute diffusion through polymers.
