Colon Targeted Pulsatile Drug Delivery : A Review

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Mrs. Rathod Shruti

Over the past two decades the major challenge for scientist is to target the drugs specifically to
the colonic region of g.i.t. Previously colon was considered as a innocuous organ solely
responsible for absorption of water, electrolytes & temporary storage of stools. But now
it is accepted as important site for drug delivery. colon is used to treat –

• Seriousness from constipation & diarrhoea to the debilitating inflammatory bowl diseases (ulcerative
colitis & Crohn’s disease) through to colon carcinoma which is two third cause of cancer in both man &
women.
• Colon can be utilized as portal for the entry of drugs into the blood stream for the systemic therapy.
• Colon having the lower level of luminal & mucosal digestive enzymes as compared with the small
intestine reduces the chances of drug degradation.
• Colon delivery also a mean of achieving chronotherapy of disease that are sensitive to circadian rhythm
such as asthma & arthritis.

Targeted delivery ensures the direct treatment at the disease site, lower dosing, & reduction in side effects. 1, 2

Approaches To Colonic Dru Delivery Through Oral Route

Oral route generally preferred by the patient than the rectal route. Colon is the most distal segment of g.i.t. that’s
why orally administered drug must retard drug release in the upper g.i.t. but must release promptly on entry into
the distal colonic part. In colon due to presence of low fluid volume & viscous nature of luminal content, the drug
dissolution & release from the formulation may vary. Colonic microflora also shows impact on the stability of
released drug. Inspite of these difficulties various approaches & systems have been developed to target the drug
to the colon.

1. pH dependent delivery – In g.i.t. there is presence of pH gradient which approximately ranges from 1.2 in
stomach, 6.6 in proximal small intestine, 7.5 in distal intestine & pH of colon is about 6.4. Generally Eudragit S is
used for the colon delivery it dissolves at pH greater than 7.0, which results in premature drug release from the
system. It is concluded that pH of g.i.t. was not a reliable criteria for colonic targeting. 3 Problem of premature drug
release can be overcomed by the use of Eudragit FS. 4

2. Pressure dependent delivery – The pressure controlled colon delivery capsule utilizes the increase in pressure
of the luminal contents of the colon. Increase in luminal pressure is due to reabsorption of water in this region.
The drug is dispersed in suppository base & coated with ethyl cellulose for the preparation of such system.
Temperature of body is responsible for suppository base to melt & increases the volume which forms balloon of
ethyl cellulose filled with liquid. This balloon can withstand with the contraction of small intestine (peristalsis) but
ruptures when subjected to intensive contraction in the colon & contents of thicker viscosity. This system is used
for the production of single unit system. 5

3. Bacteria dependent delivery – In these system colonic bacteria are utilized to degrade the substrate. The
bacterial amount has been estimated about 10 11 per gram in the colon & having around 400 species (anaerobic in
nature). Earlier polymer cross linked with azo aeromatic groups was used but due to potential carcinogenic
activity now a days natural polysaccharides are used. Natural polysaccharides generally undergo premature drug
release so they are chemically modified or mixed with hydrophobic polymers. This polymer shows good film
forming properties, resistant to pancreatic enzymes but they will undergo degradation due to bacterial enzyme. 6

4. Time dependent delivery (Pulsatile drug delivery) - Pulsatile release systems are formulated to undergo a lag-
time of predetermined span of time of no release, followed by a rapid & complete release loaded drugs(s). The
approach is based on the principle of delaying the time of drug release until the system transits from mouth to
colon. A lag-time of 5 hours is usually considered sufficient since small intestine transit is about 3-4 hours, which
is relatively constant and hardly affected by the nature of formulation administered. This system offers many
advantages over conventional oral drug delivery systems like patient compliance, reduced dosage, reduced
dosage frequency, avoidance of side effects, avoidance of peak & valley fluctuation, nearly constant drug level at
the target site. 7

PULSATILE SYSTEM – A tool to increase therapeutic efficacy of drug

 In recent years considerable
attention has been focused on the development of pulsatile drug delivery system. Delivery system with pulsatile
release pattern has gained most popular form of controlled drug delivery system because conventional systems
with a continuous release are not ideal. Oral controlled drug delivery systems are generally used due to
convenient dosage form & it also releases drug in constant or variable rates 8,9,10 . In these system drug release
generally occurs within therapeutic window for prolong period of time. Hence these systems show sustained
release of drug from dosage form.

Advantages of pulsatile drug delivery system

•
1. Extended daytime or nighttime activity
2. Reduced side effects
3. Reduced dosage frequency
4. Reduction in dose size
5. Improved patient compliance
6. Lower daily cost to patient due to fewer dosage units are required by the patient in therapy.
7. Drug adapts to suit circadian rhythms of body functions or diseases.
8. Drug targeting to specific site like colon.
9. Protection of mucosa from irritating drugs.
10. Drug loss is prevented by extensive first pass metabolism 11 .
The oral controlled drug delivery system with continuous release does not show suitability in various conditions of
the body which require pulsatile release of drug defined as “a pulsatile release profile” & is characterized by a
time period of no release (lag time) followed by a rapid & complete drug release of drug from dosage form.
Conditions requiring pulsatile release includes – A number of hormones like rennin, aldosterone & cartisole which
shows daily fluctuation in their blood levels. These changes are generally known as circadian rhythm which is
responsible for changes in many functions of the body like activity of liver enzyme, blood pressure, intra-ocular
pressure etc 12 . PH, gastric acid secretion in stomach, gastric emptying & gastric intestinal blood transfusion 13 .
Various diseases are also dependent on the circadian rhythm for example acute myocardial insufficiency occurs
most commonly around 4.00 P.M. & Epileptic seizures have the highest incidence in the morning, such conditions
demands consideration of diurnal progress of disease rather than maintaining constant plasma drug level. In
these conditions delivery system should be administered at night but it should release drug at morning time. Some
other diseases are bronchial asthma, angina pectoris, rhumatic disease, ulcer & hypertension also required time
dependent delivery 14 . Drugs responsible for producing biological tolerance also require pulsatile release. These
systems prevent their continuous presence at the biophase. It releases drug after lag time (time at which drug is
required by the body). For drugs required to be targeted in colonic region (distal organ) the delivery system should
prevent release of drug in the upper two third portions in g.i.t 15, 16 . Drug with idiosyncratic pharmacokinetics or
pharmacodynamics or drugs with extensive first pass metabolism or which show potential food interaction require
pulsatile release of the drug. Some drugs induce nausea or vomiting or some cause gastric irritation or some
undergo degradation in gastric acid medium, all such drug requires drug release after lag time. Pulsed fashion
can be achieved by the enteric coating of delivery system 17 .

All above conditions are required chronotherapeutics (i.e. precisely time therapy). To accomplish the objectives &
advantages of chronotherapeutics, time controlled pulsatile drug delivery devices are required they show
releasing the right amount at the right time.

Ideal Pulsatile Drug Delivery System

The first pulsatile drug delivery formulation, which released active substance at a precisely defined time point was
formulated in the early 1990s. The aim of the research was to obtain sigmoidal release pattern. Below drug
release profile is for the single pulse release system 18, 19 .
Classification Of Pulsatile Or Time Controlled System

In this review attempt is made to review various time controlled drug delivery system based on rupturing of
membrane or erosion of membrane. Time dependent dosage forms are formulated to release their drug load after
a predetermined lag time. Alternative terms used are pulsatile release, delayed or sigmoidal release. Besides
one-pulse systems, multiple systems release the drug in subsequent pulses. The application of pulsatile release
systems can be advantageous to adapt a drug therapy to chronopharmacological needs or to target a drug
specific site in the gastrointestinal tract, e.g. to the colon 20, 21, 22 . Lag time of 4-6 hours generally considered
sufficient, since small intestine transit is about 3-4 hours, which is relatively constant. Formulation in which drug
release is independent of the environmental factors like PH, enzymatic activity, intestinal motility, pressure etc.
can be achieved by incorporating a lag-time into the formulation equivalent to mouth to colon transit time 23 . The
pulsatile drug delivery systems are of two types –

• Single unit system

• Multiple (pellet system) unit system

Single Unit System

 1. Capsular system – Architecture of these systems generally consists of an insoluble capsule body
housing, a drug & a plug. After a predetermined lag-time plug was removed because it undergoes
swelling, erosion or dissolution. Example: pulsincap R system – In this system a water insoluble body
containing the drug formulation, system is closed with a swell able hydrogel. Plugged (insoluble but
permeable & swellable) at open end 24, 25 . Upon contact with, gastro-intestinal fluid or dissolution medium
the plug swells pushing itself out of the capsule after lag-time. Position & dimensions of plug control lag-
time. For rapid release of water insoluble drug effervescent or disintegrating agents are added. No
gastrointestinal irritation can be observed in both human & animal 26, 27 . Plug material is generally made
up of following –

1.
o Swellable materials coated with insoluble but permeable polymer (polymethacrylates)
o Erodible compressed polymer (HPMC, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene oxide)
o Congealed melted polymer (glyceryl monooleate)
o Enzymatically controlled erodible polymer (pectin) 28, 29

Disadvantages: These systems show variable gastric residence time & this problem is overcome by enteric
coating 26 .

1. Pulsatile delivery by osmosis – The Port R system consists of gelatin shell filled with osmotically active
ingredient along with drug & also having an insoluble lipidic plug. Shell is coated with semi permeable
membrane (cellulose acetate) then plugged with insoluble plug as well as system comes in contact with
aqueous medium the water moves across semi-permeable membrane & exert pressure which remove the
plug after lag-time 30 . System shows good in-vivo & in-vitro correlation in humans & used to deliver
methylphenidate to schoolage children for the treatment of attention deficit hyper activity disorder (ADHD)
31, 32
.

Another system is also based on expendable orifice that contain capsular system in which liquid drug is absorbed
on highly porous particles. Drug releases through orifice of a semipermeable capsule supported by an expending
osmotic layer after the barrier layer is dissolved 33, 34, 35.

Still another system is based on delivery by a series of stop. In this system the capsule contains a drug & water
absorptive water engine that are placed in compartment separated by a movable partition. These stops obstruct
the movement of partition but are overcome in succession when osmotic pressure rises above threshold level 36 .

1. Pulsatile delivery by erosion or solublization of coating – Most of the pulsatile drug delivery systems are
reservoir devices coated with a barrier layer. This barrier erodes or dissolves after specified lag period &
drug is subsequently released rapidly. The lag time depends on the thickness of the coating layer 37, 38, 39 .
Example: The Time Clock system consists of solid dosage form coated with lipid barriers such as
 carnauba wax & beeswax along with surfactants like polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate 40, 41 . When
this system comes in contact with the aqueous medium the coat emulsifies or erodes after the lag-time
depending on the thickness of coat. The lag time of system is independent of the gastrointestinal motility,
PH, enzyme & gastric residence time 42 .

Advantage: Ease of manufacturing.

Disadvantages: In-vivo variability (food effects which is present in G.I.T.).

In another example the Chronotropic R system consists of solid dosage form coated with hydrophilic swellable
hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose which releases drug after lag-time depending on thickness of coat & viscosity
grade of hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose. The system is suitable for both tablet & capsule dosage form, both
in-vivo & in-vitro lag times shows good correlation with the applied amount of the hydrophilic retarding polymer 43,
44, 45
.Multi layered tablet – with the three layered tablet release pattern with two pulses was obtained, two drug
layers are separated by a drug free gellable polymeric barrier layer (like HPMC, methacrylic & acrylic polymers or
polyalcohols) 46, 47 .

4. Pulsatile delivery by rupture of membrane – The other class of the reservoir type pulsatile system is based on
rupturable coatings. The drug release from the core occurs when sorrounding polymeric membrane undergo
ruptured due to inbuilt pressure within system. The effervescent excipients produces gas or osmotic agent
produces osmotic pressure or swelling agent cause swelling, one of these is necessary for rupture of coating 48,
49, 50, 51
. Citric acid & sodium bicarbonate is incorporated as effervescent mixture in tablet core coated with ethyl
cellulose, when system comes in contact with water it produces carbon dioxide gas which exerts pressure & after
lag time rupture the membrane & rapid release of drug occurs. A reservoir system with a semi permeable coating
is proposed especially with drugs with high first pass effect in order to obtain in-vivo drug pattern similar to the
administration of several immediate release doses croscarmellose sodium starch glycollate or low substituted
hydroxy propyl cellulose were used as swelling substances, which resulted in complete film rupture followed by
rapid drug release. The lag time is controlled by composition of outer polymeric membrane (HPMC water soluble
polymer increased permeability decreased lag-time) 52, 53
.

Multiparticulate System

Multiparticulate systems are reservoir type of devices with a coating, which either ruptures or changes its
permeability. Drug is coated over sugar seeds these granules may then be packaged in a capsule or compressed
with additional excipients to form a tablet. The active pharmaceutical ingredient may also be blended or
granulated with polymers before coating to provide an additional level of control. However, drug loading in this
type of system is low due to higher need of excipients 54, 55.

These systems show various advantages over single unit systems, which includes –

• Short gastric residence time

• Reproducible gastric residence time
• No risk of dose dumping
 • Flexible to blend pellets with different composition or release pattern
• Lowest transit time variability
• Unique profiles
• Amenable to capsule & tablets
• Capable of pulsatile release

Disadvantages –

• Multiple manufacturing steps

• Low drug load
• Incomplete release

1. Pulsatile release by rupturing of membrane – In these multiparticulate system drug is coated on sugar
seeds & then coated with insoluble & swellable top layer 56, 57, 58 . The swelling agent includes
superdisintegrents like carboxy methylcellulose, sodium starch glycollate, L-hydroxy propyl cellulose.
Polymers like polyacrylic acid, polyethylene glycol etc. alternatively comprising of a mixture of tartaric acid
& sodium bicarbonate that used as effervescent agent. Water ingress to system causes the coating to
swell, rupture & release of drug occurs. Release of drug is independent of pH or solubility of drug. Lag-
time can be varied by varying thickness of coating or by changing amount of plasticizers in the outermost
layer. If concentration of osmotic agent increases rapid release of drug after lag-time can be observed. In-
vivo studies of time controlled explosion system with an in-vitro lag-time of three hours showed
appearance of drug in blood after 3 hours, and maximum level after 5 hours 59, 60, 61 .

1. Rupturable coating with osmosis – These system contains core having drug (low bulk density solid or
liquid lipid material) & disintegrant. Core is coated with cellulose acetate polymer. System is combination
of swelling & osmotic effect, upon immersion in aqueous medium, water penetrates the core, displaces
the lipid material, after depletion of lipid material internal pressure increases until a critical stress is
reached, which causes rupture of coating 62, .

Another type of system is one in which tablet or capsule is composed of large number of pellets (two or more
pellets) 63 . Single pellet of this system contains drug plus osmotic agent & coated with water permeable, water
insoluble polymer. In film hydrophobic agent (water insoluble) is incorporated which alters permeability. The rate
of water influx & drug efflux causes the film coating of each population to differ from any other pellet coating in the
dosage form. Pellet gets swelled due to dissolution of osmotic agent as it comes in contact with water resulting in
regulation of diffusion & release of drug content from pellet. Each pellet population of system shows this effect.
The coating thickness may vary & this system is used for antihypertensive drug diltiazem. Osmotically active
compound don’t undergo swelling, the use of osmotic active agent was reported by Shultz & Kleinbudde 62, 63 . The
pellet core made up of drug, sodium chloride & coated with semipermeable cellulose acetate polymer (permeable
to water & not to drug). Varying thickness of coating & amount of plasticizer in coating can vary lag-time of
system. Sodium chloride provides fast release of drug if it is absent in core then a sustained release was
observed after lag-time due to lower degree of swelling & generation of small fissures in core. Chen 63, 64 has also
reported a system-containing core of drug & osmotically active agent coated with insoluble permeable membrane.

3. Change in membrane permeability based pulsatile release – The permeability & water uptake of acrylic
polymers with quaternary ammonium groups can be influenced by the presence of different counter ions 65 .
Several delivery system with sigmoidal or pulsatile release based on these ion exchange have been developed
Eudragit RS 30D is polymer of choice, it contains positively polarized quaternary ammonium group in the polymer
side chain & also negative hydro chloride counter ions. The ammonium group is hydrophilic causes interaction
with water & changes in permeability of it in controlled manner. In these system core containing drug & sodium
acetate coated with four different layer of Eudragit RS30D. Small amount of sodium acetate dramatically change
the permeability of eudragit film. After lagtime permeability increases due to increase in interaction between
eudragit & acetate, resulting in entire drug release within few minutes. Increase in lag-time occurs as thickness
increases but it has no effect on release 66 .

Sigmoidal release system consists of drug & succinic acid core coated with ammonio-methacrylate copolymer
USP/NF TYPE B. The lag-time is controlled by the rate of water influx through polymer membrane. Succinic acid
dissolves by the water causes increase in permeability of hydrated polymer film that increases free volume. These
findings were used to design acid containing core that is coated by polymeric membrane 67, 68, 69, 70 .

Conclusion

Successful colonic delivery can be obtained by pulsatile system for drugs with a high first pass effect, requiring
dosing hora somni, site specific absorption & showing chronopharmacological behaviour. A number of
formulations with single & multiple unit systems have been designed in recent past but most lack the site
specificity. Therefore, there is a need to comprehend the effect of the biological environment on release
performance so that a successful design with expected in vivo performance can be developed.

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tract of beagle dogs from multiple unit type rate-controlled or time-controlled release preparations coated
with insoluble polymer-based film. J Contr Rel. 1995;33:253-260.

About Authors:

Dr. Ram Alpana

Head of department , SLTI of Pharmaceutical Sciences, G. G. D. U. Bilaspur (C.G.),INDIA

Phone Number – 07752/254350, 94252/23746

Mrs. Rathod Shruti

Principal, SiddiVinayaka Institute of Technology & Sciences(Collage of Pharmacy) , Near to balram Talkies,
Nehru Nagar, Bilaspur (C.G.), INDIA

Date: Vol. 4 No. 5 June 2004, Posted On: 3/28/2008

tile Drug Delivery Systems: A Review

Controlled drug delivery systems have acquired a center stage in the arena of
pharmaceutical R&D business. Such systems offer temporal and/or spatial
control over the release of drug and grant a new lease on life to a drug
molecule in terms of patentability. Oral controlled drug delivery systems
represent the most popular form of controlled drug delivery systems for the
obvious advantages of oral route of drug administration. Such systems release
the drug with constant or variable release rates.1 These dosage forms offer
many advantages, such as nearly constant drug level at the site of action,
prevention of peak-valley fluctuations, reduction in dose of drug, reduced
dosage frequency, avoidance of side effects, and improved patient
compliance.2

The oral controlled-release system shows a typical pattern of drug release

(Figure 1) in which the drug concentration is maintained in the therapeutic
window for a prolonged period of time (sustained release), thereby ensuring
sustained therapeutic action.3 Thus, the release commences as soon as the
dosage form is administered as in the case of conventional dosage forms.

WHY PULSATILE DELIVERY?

However, there are certain conditions for which such a release pattern is not
suitable. These conditions demand release of drug after a lag time. In other
words, it is required that the drug should not be released at all during the initial
phase of dosage form administration. Such a release pattern is known as
pulsatile release. The conditions that demand such release include:

 Many body functions that follow circadian rhythm, ie, their activity
waxes and wanes with time. A number of hormones like rennin,
aldosterone, and cortisol show daily fluctuations in their blood levels.
Circadian effects are also observed in case of pH and acid secretion
in stomach, gastric emptying, and gastro-intestinal blood transfusion.
 Diseases like bronchial asthma, myocardial infarction, angina
pectoris, rheumatic disease, ulcer, and hypertension display time
dependence.6 Dethlefsan and Repges7 reported sharp increase in
asthmatic attacks during early morning hours. Such a condition
demands considerations of diurnal progress of the disease rather
than maintaining constant plasma drug level. A drug delivery system
administered at bedtime, but releasing drug well after the time of
administration (during morning hours), would be ideal in this case.
Same is true for preventing heart attacks in the middle of the night
and the morning stiffness typical of people suffering from arthritis.
 Drugs that produce biological tolerance demand for a system that will
prevent their continuous presence at the biophase as this tends to
reduce their therapeutic effect.8
 The lag time is essential for the drugs that undergo degradation in
gastric acidic medium (eg, peptide drugs) irritate the gastric mucosa
 or induce nausea and vomiting. These conditions can be satisfactorily
handled by enteric coating,9 and in this sense, enteric coating can be
considered as a pulsatile drug delivery system.
 Targeting a drug to distal organs of gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) like
the colon requires that the drug release is prevented in the upper two
third portion of the GIT.10
 The drugs that undergo extensive first-pass metabolism (b blockers)
and those that are characterized by idiosyncratic pharmacokinetics or
pharmacodynamics resulting in reduced bioavailability, altered
drug/metabolite ratios, altered steady state levels of drug and
metabolite, and potential food-drug interactions require delayed
release of the drug to the extent possible.

All of these conditions demand for a time-programmed therapeutic scheme

releasing the right amount of drug at the right time. This requirement is fulfilled
by Pulsatile Drug Delivery Systems. A pulsatile drug delivery system is
characterized by a lag time that is an interval of no drug release followed by
rapid drug release. The ideal drug-release profile of pulsatile drug delivery
systems is depicted in Figure 2.

The first pulsed delivery formulation that released the active substance at a
precisely defined time point was developed in the early 1990s. In this context,
the aim of the research was to achieve a so-called sigmoidal release pattern
(pattern A in Figure 2). The characteristic feature of the formulation was a
defined lag time followed by a drug pulse with the enclosed active quantity
being released at once.11

Thus, the major challenge in the development of pulsatile drug delivery system
is to achieve a rapid drug release after the lag time. Often, the drug is released
over an extended period of time (patterns B & C in Figure 2). This following
reviews the various pulsatile drug delivery systems that are reported.

CURRENTLY REPORTED SYSTEMS

Pulsatile systems are basically time-controlled drug delivery systems in which

the system controls the lag time independent of environmental factors like pH,
enzymes, gastro-intestinal motility, etc. These time-controlled systems can be
classified as single unit (eg, tablet or capsule) or multiple unit (eg, pellets)
systems.

SINGLE-UNIT SYSTEMS

Capsular Systems
Different single-unit capsular pulsatile drug delivery systems have been
developed. A general architecture of such systems consists of an insoluble
capsule body housing a drug and a plug. The plug is removed after a
predetermined lag time owing to swelling, erosion, or dissolution.

The Pulsincap® system (Scherer DDS, Ltd) is an example of such a system

that is made up of a water-insoluble capsule body filled with drug
formulation.12-14 The body is closed at the open end with a swellable hydrogel
plug. Upon contact with dissolution medium or gastro-intestinal fluids, the plug
swells, pushing itself out of the capsule after a lag time. This is followed by a
rapid drug release. The lag time can be controlled by manipulating the
dimension and the position of the plug. For water-insoluble drugs, a rapid
release can be ensured by inclusion of effervescent agents or disintegrants.
The plug material consists of insoluble but permeable and swellable polymers
(eg, polymethacrylates),16,17 erodible compressed polymers (eg,
hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene oxide),
congealed melted polymers (eg, saturated polyglycolated glycerides, glyceryl
monooleate), and enzymatically controlled erodible polymer (eg, pectin). These
formulations were well tolerated in animals and healthy volunteers, and there
were no reports of gastro-intestinal irritation.15 However, there was a potential
problem of variable gastric residence time, which was overcome by enteric
coating the system to allow its dissolution only in the higher pH region of small
intestine.14

Capsular System Based on Osmosis

The Port® System (Port Systems, LLC) consists of a gelatin capsule coated
with a semipermeable membrane (eg, cellulose acetate) housing an insoluble
plug (eg, lipidic) and an osmotically active agent along with the drug
formulation (Figure 3).18 When in contact with the aqueous medium, water
diffuses across the semipermeable membrane, resulting in increased inner
pressure that ejects the plug after a lag time. The lag time is controlled by
coating thickness. The system showed good correlation in lag times of
and in-vivo experiments in humans.19 The system was proposed to deliver
methylphenidate for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) in school-age children. Such a system avoids a second daily dose tha
otherwise would have been administered by a nurse during school hours.

A System Based on Expandable Orifice: To deliver the drug in liquid form, an

osmotically driven capsular system was developed in which the liquid drug is
absorbed into highly porous particles, which release the drug through an orifice
of a semipermeable capsule supported by an expanding osmotic layer after
the barrier layer is dissolved.21 The capsular system delivers drug by the
capsule's osmotic infusion of moisture from the body. The capsule wall is
made up of an elastic material and possesses an orifice. As the osmosis
proceeds, the pressure within the capsule rises, causing the wall to stretch.
The orifice is small enough so that when the elastic wall relaxes, the flow of the
drug through the orifice essentially stops, but when the elastic wall is distended
beyond threshold value, the orifice expands sufficiently to allow drug release a
a required rate. Elastomers, such as styrene-butadiene copolymer have been
suggested.22,23 Pulsatile release was achieved after lag times of 1 to 10 hours,
depending on the thickness of the barrier layer and that of semipermeable
membrane,21 and a capsule designed for implantation can deliver drug
intermittently at intervals of 6 hours for 2 days.

Delivery by a Series of Stops: This system is described for implantable

capsules. The capsule contains a drug and a water-absorptive osmotic engine
that are placed in compartments separated by a movable partition. The
pulsatile delivery is achieved by a series of stops along the inner wall of the
capsule. These stops obstruct the movement of the partition but are overcome
in succession as the osmotic pressure rises above a threshold level. The
number of stops and the longitudinal placements of the stops along the length
of the capsule dictate the number and frequency of the pulses, and the
configuration of the partition controls the pulse intensity. This system was used
to deliver porcine somatotropin.24

Pulsatile Delivery by Solubility Modulation: Such systems contain a solubility

modulator for pulsed delivery of variety of drugs. The system was especially
developed for delivery of salbutamol sulphate.25-27 The compositions contain
the drug (salbutamol sulphate) and a modulating agent (sodium chloride,
NaCl). The amount of NaCl was such that it was less than the amount needed
to maintain saturation in a fluid that enters the osmotic device. The pulsed
delivery is based on drug solubility. Salbutamol has solubility of 275 mg/ml in
water and 16 mg/ml in saturated solution of NaCl, while NaCl has solubility of
321 mg/ml in water, and its saturation solubility is 320 mg/ml. These values
show that the solubility of the drug is function of the modulator concentration,
while the modulator's solubility is largely independent of drug concentration.
The modulating agent can be a solid organic acid, inorganic salt, or organic
salt. In order to control zero-order release period and commencement of
pulsed release, ratio of drug/modulator can be varied. After the period of zero-
order release, the drug is delivered as one large pulse. A similar system is
described for delivery of terbutaline and oxprenolol.25 However, in general, the
large-scale manufacturing of these systems is complicated and calls for specia
equipments and several manufacturing steps.

Pulsatile System With Erodible or Soluble Barrier Coatings

Most of the pulsatile drug delivery systems are reservoir devices coated with a
barrier layer. This barrier erodes or dissolves after a specific lag period, and
the drug is subsequently released rapidly. The lag time depends on the
thickness of the coating layer.

The Time Clock® system (West Pharmaceutical Services Drug Delivery &
Clinical Research Centre) consists of a solid dosage form coated with lipidic
barriers containing carnuba wax and bees' wax along with surfactants, such as
polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate.28,29 This coat erodes or emulsifies in the
aqueous environment in a time proportional to the thickness of the film, and
the core is then available for dispersion. In a study with human volunteers, it
was shown that the lag time was independent of gastric residence time, and
the hydrophobic film redispersion did not appear to be influenced by the
presence of intestinal enzymes or mechanical action of stomach or gastro-
intestinal pH.30 The lag time increased with increasing coating thickness. Such
systems are better suited for water-soluble drugs. The major advantage of this
system is its ease of manufacturing without any need of special equipment.
However, such lipid-based systems may have high in-vivo variability (eg, food
effects).

The possible problems of erosion-controlled systems include a premature drug

release when the penetrating water dissolves the drug, which diffuses out
through the barrier layers, and sustained release after the lag phase when the
barrier layer is not eroded or dissolved completely, thereby retarding the drug
release.

The Chronotropic® system consists of a drug-containing core coated by

hydrophilic swellable hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC), which is
responsible for a lag phase in the onset of release.31-33 In addition, through the
application of an outer gastric-resistant enteric film, the variability in gastric
emptying time can be overcome, and a colon-specific release can be obtained
relying on the relative reproducibility of small intestinal transit time.
time is controlled by the thickness and the viscosity grades of HPMC.
cores containing Antipyrine as the model drug were prepared by tabletting and
retarding, and enteric coats were applied in a fluidized bed coater. The
release curves displayed a lag phase preceding drug release, and the
pharmacokinetic data showed a lag time prior to presence of detectable
amounts of drug in saliva. Both in-vitro and in-vivo lag times correlate well with
the applied amount of the hydrophilic retarding polymer.35 The system is
suitable for both tablets and capsules.36
Multilayered Tablet: A release pattern with two pulses was obtained from a
three-layered tablet containing two drug containing layers separated by a drug
free gellable polymeric barrier layer.37-39 This three-layered tablet was coated
on three sides with in impermeable ethyl cellulose, and the top portion was left
uncoated. Upon contact with dissolution medium, the initial dose incorporated
into the top layer was released rapidly from the non-coated surface. The
second pulse was obtained from the bottom layer after the gelling barrier layer
of HPMC was eroded and dissolved. The rate of gelling and/or dissolution of
the barrier layer controls the appearance of the second pulse. The gelling
polymers reported include cellulose derivatives like HPMC, methyl cellulose, o
polyvinyl alcohols of various molecular weights, and the coating materials
include ethyl cellulose, cellulose-acetate-propionate, methacrylic polymers,
acrylic and mehtacrylic co-polymers, and polyalcohols.39

Pulsatile System With Rupturable Coatings

In contrast to the swellable or erodible coating systems, these systems depend
on the disintegration of the coating for the release of drug. The pressure
necessary for the rupture of the coating can be achieved by the effervescent
excipients, swelling agents, or osmotic pressure.

An effervescent mixture of citric acid and sodium bicarbonate was incorporated

in a tablet core coated with ethyl cellulose. The carbon dioxide developed after
penetration of water into the core resulted in a pulsatile release of drug after
rupture of the coating.40 The release may depend on the mechanical properties
of the coating layer. It is reported that the weak and non-flexible ethyl cellulose
film ruptured sufficiently as compared to more flexible films. The lag time
increases with increasing coating thickness and increasing hardness of the
core tablet.

The highly swellable agents, also called superdisintegrants, were used to

design a capsule-based system comprising a drug, swelling agent, and
rupturable polymer layer.41 Examples of superdisintegrants include cross
carmellose, sodium starch glycollate, and low substituted hydroxypropyl
cellulose. The swelling of these materials resulted in a complete film rupture
followed by rapid drug release. The lag time is function of the composition of
the outer polymer layer. The presence of hydrophilic polymer like HPMC
reduced the lag time. The system can be used for delivery of both solid and
liquid drug formulations. A reservoir system with a semipermeable coating was
designed for delivery of drugs that exhibit extensive first-pass metabolism. The
release pattern was similar to that obtained after administration of several
immediate-release doses.42

MULTIPARTICULATE SYSTEMS

Multiparticualte systems (eg, pellets) offer various advantages over single-unit

systems.43 These include no risk of dose dumping, flexibility of blending units
with different release patterns, and reproducible and short gastric residence
time. But the drug-carrying capacity of multiparticulate systems is lower due to
presence of higher quantity of excipients. Such systems are invariably a
reservoir type with either rupturable or altered permeability coating.

Pulsatile System Based on Rupturable Coating

Time-Controlled Explosion System (Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.):

a multiparticulate system in which drug is coated on non-pareil sugar seeds
followed by a swellable layer and an insoluble top layer.44-47 The swelling
agents used include superdisintegrants like sodium carboxymethyl cellulose,
sodium starch glycollate, L-hydroxypropyl cellulose, polymers like polyvinyl
acetate, polyacrylic acid, polyethylene glycol, etc. Alternatively, an effervescen
system comprising a mixture of tartaric acid and sodium bicarbonate may also
be used. Upon ingress of water, the swellable layer expands, resulting in
rupture of film with subsequent rapid drug release. The release is independent
of environmental factors like pH and drug solubility. The lag time can be varied
by varying coating thickness or adding high amounts of lipophilic plasticizer in
the outermost layer. A rapid release after the lag phase was achieved with
increased concentration of osmotic agent. In-vivo studies of time-controlled
explosion system (TCES) with an in-vitro lag time of three hours showed
appearance of drug in blood after 3 hours, and maximum blood levels after 5
hours.48

Osmotic-Based Rupturable Coating Systems

Permeability Controlled System: This system is based on a combination of

osmotic and swelling effects. The core containing the drug, a low bulk density
solid and/or liquid lipid material (eg, mineral oil) and a disintegrant was
prepared. This core was then coated with cellulose acetate. Upon immersion in
aqueous medium, water penetrates the core displacing lipid material. After the
depletion of lipid material, internal pressure increases until a critical stress is
reached, which results in rupture of coating.42

Another system is based on a capsule or tablet composed of a large number o

pellets consisting of two or more pellets or parts (ie, populations).49
has a core that contains the therapeutic drug and a water-soluble osmotic
agent. Water-permeable, water-insoluble polymer film encloses each core. A
hydrophobic, water-insoluble agent that alters permeability (eg, a fatty acid,
wax, or a salt of fatty acid) is incorporated into the polymer film. The rate of
water influx and drug efflux causes the film coating of each population to differ
from any other pellet coating in the dosage form. The osmotic agents dissolve
in the water causing the pellets to swell, thereby regulating the rate of drug
diffusion. The effect of each pellet population releasing its drug content
sequentially provides a series of pulses of drug from a single dosage form. The
coating thickness can be varied amongst the pellets. This system was used for
the delivery of antihypertensive drug, diltiazem.

The use of osmotically active agents that do not undergo swelling was reported
by Schultz and Kleinebudde.50,51 The pellet cores consisted of drug and sodium
chloride. These were coated with a semipermeable cellulose acetate polymer.
This polymer is selectively permeable to water and is impermeable to the drug
The lag time increased with increase in the coating thickness and with higher
amounts of talc or lipophilic plasticizer in the coating. The sodium chloride
facilitated the desired fast release of drug. In absence of sodium chloride, a
sustained release was obtained after the lag time due to a lower degree of
core swelling that resulted in generation of small fissures.

Chen has also proposed a system containing a core of drug and osmotically
active agent (sodium chloride) coated with an insoluble permeable
membrane.52 The coating materials reported include different types of poly
(acrylate-methacrylate) co-polymers and magnesium stearate, which reduces
water permeability of the membrane, thus allowing for use of thinner films.
Thicker films are to be avoided as they do not rupture completely. Using ethyl
cellulose as a coating material, it was possible to affect lag time of enteric
polymer to achieve rupturing after a predetermined time.53

Pulsatile Delivery by Change in Membrane Permeability

The permeability and water uptake of acrylic polymers with quaternary
ammonium groups can be influenced by the presence of different counter-ions
in the medium.54 Several delivery systems based on this ion exchange have
been developed. Eudragit RS 30D is reported to be a polymer of choice for this
purpose. It typically contains positively polarized quaternary ammonium group
in the polymer side chain, which is always accompanied by negative
hydrochloride counter-ions. The ammonium group being hydrophilic facilitates
the interaction of polymer with water, thereby changing its permeability and
allowing water to permeate the active core in a controlled manner. This
property is essential to achieve a precisely defined lag time. The cores were
prepared using theophylline as a model drug and sodium acetate. These
pellets were coated using Eudragit RS30D (10% to 40% weight gain) in four
different layer thicknesses. A correlation between film thickness and lag time
was observed. It was found that even a small amount of sodium acetate in the
pellet core had a dramatic effect on the drug permeability of the Eudragit film.
After the lag time, interaction between the acetate and polymer increases the
permeability of the coating so significantly that the entire active dose is
liberated within a few minutes.55 The lag time increases with increasing
thickness of the coat, but the release of the drug was found to be independent
of this thickness and depended on the amount of salt present in the system.

Sigmoidal Release System: This consists of pellet cores comprising drug and
succinic acid coated with ammonio-methacrylate copolymer USP/NF type B.
The lag time is controlled by the rate of water influx through the polymer
membrane. The water dissolves succinic acid, and the drug in the core and the
acid solution in turn increases permeability of the hydrated polymer film. In
addition to succinic acid, acetic acid, glutaric acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, or
citric acid can be used. The increased permeability can be explained by
improved hydration of film, which increases free volume. These findings were
used to design a coated delivery system with an acid-containing core.
in-vitro lag time correlated well with in-vivo data when tested in beagle dogs.

CONCLUSION

It can be concluded that pulsatile drug delivery systems offer a solution for
delivery of drugs exhibiting chronopharmacological behavior, extensive first-
pass metabolism, necessity of night-time dosing, or absorption window in GIT.
A variety of systems based on single or multiple units are developed for
pulsatile release of drug. Most systems perform quite well in vitro; their
performance in vivo has often not been tested. One major challenge will be to
obtain a better understanding of the influence of the biological environment on
the release performance of pulsatile delivery systems in order to develop
simple systems based on approved excipients with a good in vitro-in vivo
correlation.

______________

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novel drug release system, time-controlled explosion system (TES).
Part 1: concept and design. J Drug Targeting. 1994;2:35-44.
46. Ueda S, Yamaguchi H, Kotani M, Kimura S, Tokunaga Y, Kagayama
A, Hata T. Development of a novel drug release system, time-
controlled explosion system (TES). Part II: design of multiparticulate
TES and in vitro drug release properties. Chem Pharm Bull.
1994;42(2):359-363.
47. Ueda S, Ibuki R, Kimura S, Murata S, Takahashi T, Tokunaga Y, Hata
 T. Development of a novel drug release system, time controlled
explosion system (TES). Part III: relation between lag time and
membrane thickness. Chem Pharm Bull. 1994;42(2):364-367.
48. Hata T, Shimazaki Y, Kagayama A, Tamura S, Ueda S. Development
of a novel drug delivery system (TES): Part V: animal
pharmacodynamic study and human bioavailability study. Int J Pharm
1994;110:1-7.
49. Chen C-M. Multiparticulate Pulsatile Drug Delivery System. US Paten
No. 5,508,040; 1996.
50. Schultz P, Kleinebudde P. A new multiparticulate delayed release
system. Part I: dissolution properties and release mechanism. J Contr
Rel. 1997;47:181-189.
51. Schultz P, Tho I, Kleinebudde P. A new multiparticulate delayed
release system. Part II: coating formulation and properties of free
films. J Contr Rel. 1997; 47:191-199.
52. Chen C-M. Multiparticulate Pulsatile Drug Delivery System. US Paten
No. 5,260,069; 1993.
53. Chen C-M. Pulsatile Particles Drug Delivery System. US Patent No.
5,260,068; 1993.
54. Bodmeier R, Guo X, Sarabia RE, Skultety P. The influence of buffer
species and strength on diltiazem HCl release from beads coated with
aqueous cationic polymer dispersions, Eudragit RS, RL 30D. Pharm
Res. 1996;13(1):52-56.
55. Beckert TE, Pogarell K, Hack I, Petereit H-U. Pulsed drug release
with film coatings of Eudragit & Mac226; RS 30D. Proceed Int'l Symp
Control Rel Bioact Mater. 1999;26:533-534.
56. Guo X. Physicochemical and Mechanical Properties Influencing the
Drug Release From Coated Dosage Forms. Doctoral Thesis. The
University of Texas at Austin;1996.
57. Narisawa S, Nagata M, Danyoshi C, Yoshino H, Murata K, Hirakawa
Y, Noda K. An organic acid-induced sigmoidal release system for ora
controlled-release preparations. Pharm Res. 1994;11(1):111-116.
58. Narisawa S, Nagata M, Hirakawa Y, Kobayashi M, Yoshino H. An
organic acid-induced sigmoidal release system for oral controlled-
release preparations. Part II: permeability enhancement of Eudragit
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J Pharm Sci. 1996;85(2):184-188.
59. Narisawa S, Nagata M, Ito T, Yoshino H, Hirakawa Y, Noda K. Drug
release behavior in gastrointestinal tract of beagle dogs from multiple
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coated with insoluble polymer-based film. J Contr Rel. 1995;33:253-
260.

BIOGRAPHIES

Dr. Abhijit V. Gothoskar was working as Senior Lecturer of Pharmaceutics in

 Maharashtra Institute of Pharmacy, Pune, India. He is presently working as
Modified Release Area Technical Manager for Colorcon Asia Pvt Ltd, in Goa,
India.

Professor Anagha M. Joshi, MPharm, is working as a Lecturer of

Pharmaceutical Analysis at the Maharashtra Institute of Pharmacy in Pune,
India.

Mr. Nitin H. Joshi, BPharm, is a Post-Graduate student at the School of

Pharmacy, University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Copyright © 2010 Drug Delivery Technology All rights reserved.

“Programmed Polymeric Devices” for Pulsed Drug Delivery

Barbara G. Stubbe, Stefaan C. De Smedt and Joseph Demeester

Pharmaceutica l research , Vol 21

Abstract

Pharmaceutical research strives to design drug delivery systems that respond to therapeutic needs.
Considering the facts that physiologic parameters (e.g., heart rate, blood pressure, and plasma
concentration of hormones, plasma proteins, and enzymes) display constancy over time, drug
delivery systems with a constant release profile have been designed. However, because of circadian
rhythms in physiologic parameters and pathologic conditions (e.g., asthma, angina pectoris), the
conventional paradigm concerning drug concentrations the flatter the better may not be what the
organism may need. Instead, to correlate with our biological needs, precisely timed drug delivery,
which could be accomplished with programmable dosage forms, is required. Precisely timed drug
delivery may maximize therapeutic efficacy, may minimize dose frequency, and may reduce toxicity
by avoiding side effects and drug tolerance. This paper outlines the concepts that have been
proposed to release drugs in a pulsed manner from pharmaceutical devices.

drug delivery - pulsatile programmed drug delivery - pulsed drug release - vaccine delivery

Multiparticulate pulsatile drug delivery system

United States Patent 5508040
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A unit dosage form of capsule, tablet or the like is composed of a large number of pellets made up of
two or more populations of pellets or particles. Each pellet contains a core containing the therapeutic
drug and a water soluble osmotic agent. A water-permeable, water-insoluble polymer film encloses each
core. Incorporated into the polymer film is a hydrophobic, water insoluble agent which alters the
permeability of the polymer film. The film coating of each population of pellets differs from the coating
of every other population of pellets in the dosage form in the rate at which water passes through to the
core and the rate at which drug diffuses out of the core. The osmotic agent dissolves in the water,
causing the pellet to swell and regulating the rate of diffusion of drug into the environment of use. As
each population of pellets releases its drug into the environment sequentially, the effect is to provide a
series of pulsatile administrations of the drug from a single dosage form.
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US Patent References:
Diltiazem formulations and methods of treatment
Geoghegan et al. - August, 1994 - 5336504

Diltiazem formulation
Hendrickson et al. - February, 1994 - 5286497

Controlled release article with pulsatile release

Bar-Shalom et al. - May, 1993 - 5213808

Multi-unit pulsatile delivery system

Maruyama et al. - May, 1991 - 5017381

Controlled absorption diltiazem formulations

Geoghegan et al. - March, 1991 - 5002776

Inventors:
Chen, Chih-ming (Cooper City, FL)
Application Number:
08/244745
Publication Date:
04/16/1996
Filing Date:
06/13/1994
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation
Assignee:
Andrx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Primary Class:
424/451
Other Classes:
424/453, 424/452, 424/489
International Classes:
A61K9/26; A61K9/56; A61K9/48
Field of Search:
424/452, 424/451, 424/489, 424/485, 424/453, 424/488, 424/497
View Patent Images:
Download PDF 5508040 PDF help
US Patent References:
485122 Composition comprising a therapeutic agent and a modulating July, Magruder et
424/457
9 agent 1989 al.
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Primary Examiner:
Page, Thurman K.
Assistant Examiner:
Benston Jr., William E.
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
Blum, Alvin S.
Parent Case Data:

This is a U.S. national phase patent application under 35U.S.C.371 of PCT patent application Ser. No.
PCT/US93/05922 filed Jun. 3, 1993 and a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 07/878,416 filed May 4, 1993
which is now U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,068.

Claims:
I claim:

1. A unit dosage form for administering a therapeutic agent into an aqueous fluid-containing
environment in a plurality of sequential, pulsatile releasing events, said unit dosage form comprising:

a) a carrier medium which does not maintain its integrity in the environment of use, said carrier medium
is selected from the group consisting of tablets, suppositories and pouches;

b) a plurality of populations of pellets held together by said carrier medium, each population of pellets
having properties to release into said environment the therapeutic agent at a different time after contact
with said environment;

c) each pellet comprising: 1) a core including said therapeutic agent, and a modulating agent which is a
different agent than the therapeutic agent, said modulating agent being soluble in water and providing an
osmotic effect when dissolved; and 2) a coating enclosing said core, said coating comprised of at least
one water-permeable, film-forming, water-insoluble polymer and a hydrophobic agent, said hydrophobic
agent is selected from the group consisting of fatty acids, waxes and salts of fatty acids, said
hydrophobic agent present in an amount of at least twenty-five percent of said water insoluble polymer,
all of a population of pellets being provided with a substantially uniform coating that causes water to
enter said core and therapeutic agent to diffuse through the coating and into said environment at a
predetermined time after exposure to said environment; and

d) each population of pellets being provided with a coating which causes said therapeutic agent to be
released at a different time into the environment of use than other populations of pellets to thereby
provide a plurality of sequential therapeutic releasing events when said populations are all exposed to
said environment at the same time, with each population providing a different time of release of said
therapeutic agent, and in which each population of pellets has a mean release time in said environment
of use that is separated from the mean release time of every other population of pellets by at least one
hour.
2. The unit dosage form according to claim 1, in which the pellets of each population differ from the
other populations in the thickness of the coating.

3. The unit dosage form according to claim 2, in which said film-forming, water insoluble polymer is at
least one member of the group consisting of copolymers of acrylic and methacrylic acid esters,
copolymers of acrylic and methacrylic acid esters with quaternary ammonium groups, cellulose
derivatives, and acrylic resins.

4. The dosage form according to claim 2, in which said therapeutic agent is a pharmaceutically
acceptable form of diltiazem, said core includes at least one processing aid, and said film-forming
polymer comprises a copolymer of acrylic and methacrylic acid esters with less than six percent
quaternary ammonium groups in combination with at least one plasticizing agent and said hydrophobic
agent being a stearate salt present in an amount of at least forty percent of said polymer.

5. The dosage form according to claim 2, in which said therapeutic agent is a pharmaceutically
acceptable form of diltiazem, said core includes at least one processing aid, and said polymer includes a
copolymer of acrylic and methacrylic acid esters and said hydrophobic agent being stearate salt present
in an amount of at least forty percent of said polymer.

6. The dosage form according to claim 2, in which there are at least two populations of pellets which
differ from one another by a mean release time of at least one hour.

7. The dosage form according to claim 2, in which there are at least three populations of pellets which
differ from one another by a mean release time of at least one hour.

8. The unit dosage form according to claim 1, in which the pellets of each population differ from the
other populations in the proportion of said hydrophobic agent to said polymer in the coating enclosing
said pellets.

9. The unit dosage form according to claim 6, in which said polymer is at least one member of the group
consisting of copolymers of acrylic and methacrylic acid esters, copolymers of acrylic and methacrylic
acid esters with quaternary ammonium groups, cellulose ether derivatives, and acrylic resins.

10. The unit form according to claim 8, in which said therapeutic agent is a pharmaceutically acceptable
form of diltiazem, said core includes at least one processing aid, and said polymer comprises a
copolymer of acrylic and methacrylic acid esters with less than six percent quaternary ammonium
groups in combination with at least one plasticizing agent and said hydrophobic agent is a stearate salt.

11. The dosage form according to claim 8, in which said therapeutic agent is a pharmaceutically
acceptable form of diltiazem, said core includes at least one processing aid, and said polymer includes a
copolymer of acrylic and methacrylic acid esters and said hydrophobic agent is a stearate salt.

12. The dosage form according to claim 8, in which there are at least three populations of pellets which
differ from one another by a mean release time of at least one hour.
13. The dosage form according to claim 8, in which there are at least two populations of pellets which
differ from one another by a mean release time of at least one hour.

14. The dosage form according to claim 1, in which the amount of modulating agent within the cores of
the pellets differs from the amount of modulating agent in any other population of pellets to contribute
to the control of the time of release.

15. The dosage form according to claim 1, in which said polymer is substantially pH independent over
the pH range encountered in the environment of use.

16. A method for preparing unit dosage forms for administering a therapeutic agent into an aqueous
environment of use in a plurality of sequential, pulsatile releasing events, the method comprising the
steps of:

a) forming a plurality of cores as defined in claim 1;

b) coating a first population of said cores uniformly with a coating as defined in claim 1, thereby
forming a population of film coated pellets, said pellets having a defined permeability to water and said
therapeutic agent, whereby water diffuses into said core and therapeutic agent diffuses from said core
into the environment of use at a particular time after exposure of said pellets to said environment of use;

c) coating at least one additional population of cores uniformly with a coating as defined in claim 1,
thereby forming at least one additional population of film coated pellets, said pellets having a defined
permeability to water and said therapeutic agent, whereby water diffuses into said core and therapeutic
agent diffuses from said core into the environment of use at a different time after exposure of said pellets
to said environment than the times of other populations of pellets, each population of pellets having a
mean release time separated by at least one hour from the mean release time of the other populations;

d) mixing the different populations of pellets in a predetermined proportion mixture;

e) forming aggregates of predetermined amounts of said mixture;

f) holding each aggregate together within a carrier medium which does not maintain its integrity in the
environment of use to prepare unit dosage forms, said carrier medium is selected from the group
consisting of capsules, tablets, suppositories and pouches.

17. A pellet formulation for administering a therapeutic agent into an aqueous fluid-containing
environment in at least one pulsatile releasing event, each pellet of said formulation comprising:

1) a core including said therapeutic agent, and a modulating agent which is a different agent than the
therapeutic agent, said modulating agent being soluble in water and providing an osmotic effect when
dissolved; and
2) a release-controlling coating enclosing said core, said coating comprised of at least one water-
permeable, film-forming, water-insoluble polymer and a hydrophobic agent, said hydrophobic agent a
member selected from the group of hydrophobic agents consisting of fatty acids, wax and insoluble salts
of fatty acids, said hydrophobic agent present in an amount of at least twenty-five percent of said water
insoluble polymer, all of at least one population of said pellets being provided with a substantially
uniform coating that causes water to enter said core and therapeutic agent to diffuse through the coating
into said environment at a predetermined time of at least one hour after exposure to said environment.

18. The pellet formulation according to claim 17, in which there are at least two populations of pellets,
all of the pellets within a population being provided with substantially uniform cores and coatings such
that water enters said core and therapeutic agent diffuses through said coating and into said environment
at a predetermined time after exposure to said environment, said predetermined time being substantially
different from the predetermined time of other populations by at least one hour, said at least two
populations of pellets being incorporated into a tablet.

19. The pellet formulation according to claim 18, in which said therapeutic agent is a pharmaceutically
acceptable form of Diltiazem.

20. The pellet formulation according to claim 17, in which said therapeutic agent is a pharmaceutically
acceptable form of Diltiazem.

Description:

TECHNICAL FIELD

My invention relates to a controlled absorption pharmaceutical preparation and more particularly to a

unit dosage form of an assemblage of a plurality of different populations of particles that, upon
administration, release therapeutic agents in a sequential, pulsatile fashion.

BACKGROUND ART

Many therapeutic agents are most effective when present at a uniform concentration in the blood. They
may be ineffective at a lower level and toxic at a higher level, causing, for example, cardiac, kidney or
hearing injury. A reasonably constant, effective and safe blood level may be achieved by intravenous
infusion of a uniform solution of the drug directly into the blood. This is not practical in most situations
such as veterinary medicine, long term medication, and ambulatory health care outside of the hospital,
where oral dosage formulations may achieve a therapeutic effect. A single daily dose will generally
cause the blood level to rise to a peak and then fall off as the drug is first absorbed into the blood and
then excreted or metabolized. To achieve a more uniform blood level, the drug may be administered in
divided doses over timed intervals throughout the day, to produce a pulsatile blood concentration curve
with time. In some situations this may be more effective than a uniform blood level. It is inconvenient to
take many dosage units throughout the day. It may also be more prone to error from missed doses and
double doses.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,229 issued Jul. 25, 1989 to Magruder et al. discusses relative merits of steady state
versus pulsatile drug delivery regimens and discloses a unit dosage form of complex structure for
pulsatile delivery of drug employing an osmotic pump mechanism and a semi permeable shell with a
tiny hole in the shell through which the drug is ejected.

Magruder discloses that a wide choice of different modulating or osmotic agents are available and well
known in the art, as follows (Col 6 line 35) "The modulating agents useful for the purpose of this
invention are soluble in aqueous and biological fluids, such as ionizing compounds, inherently polar
compounds, inorganic acids, organic acids, bases and salts, and salts containing a common ion with the
drug. In a preferred embodiment the compounds are solids and they dissolve and form a solution with
fluids imbibed into the osmotic device. Examplary inorganic salts are represented by a member selected
from the group consisting essentially of lithium chloride, lithium sulfate, magnesium chloride,
magnesium sulfate, potassium chloride, potassium sulfate, potassium acid phosphate, sodium chloride,
sodium sulfate, sodium sulfite, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, and the like. Salts of organic acids are
represented by a member selected from the group consisting essentially of sodium citrate, potassium
acid tartrate, potassium bitartrate, sodium bitartrate, and the like."

U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,692 issued Apr. 30, 1991 to Fujioka et al. discloses a preparation with multiple
layers for a pulsatile release effect.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,017,381 issued May 21, 1991 to Maruyama et al. discloses a plurality of cup shaped
elements within a housing to provide a pulsatile delivery system.

These systems require special manufacturing procedures and equipment for the special structures that
are costly and may be less reliable than conventional pharmaceutical manufacturing procedures. They
may not be as readily controlled for particular time intervals. They are not readily adapted to a large
number of pulses in a single dosage form as may be most desirable in a rapidly absorbed and excreted
drug having a short useful half-life in the blood.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide unit dosage forms for drugs or therapeutic agents
that will release the drug into the environment of use in a series of sequential, pulsatile releasing events
that employs conventional pharmaceutical equipment and products for optimum economy and
reliability. It is another object to provide dosage units readily adaptible to a variety of timing intervals,
different therapeutic agents and combinations of agents. It is yet another object to provide a system that
can yield a large number of pulses within a single unit dosage form at no significant increase in cost
over only one or two pulses. It is yet another object to provide means for protecting the drug from
adverse environmental conditions prior to delivery into the environment of use.

The multiparticulate pulsatile drug system of the invention comprises at least two different populations
of polymer film coated pellets containing drug and osmotic agent. Each pellet has a coating of water-
permeable, water-insoluble, film-forming polymer material in combination with substantial amounts of a
hydrophobic agent to control the rate of penetration of water into the core and the lag time before release
of drug into the environment.
The coating on the pellets of each population being sufficiently different from the coating on the pellets
of every other population in the unit dose to provide pulses of drug separate from one another by a
substantial time interval so that a single dose administration results in a sequence of pulses of drug being
released into the blood throughout the day. The rate of release may be controlled by varying the
thickness of the coat, the proportion of hydrophobic agent in the coating, and the proportion of osmotic
agent in the pellet.

These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent when the
detailed description is considered in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a diagrammatic representation of a unit dosage form of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a composite graph depicting delivery of drug into an aqueous environment from three
populations of pellets.

FIG. 3 shows a diagrammatic representation of another unit dosage form of the invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring now first to FIGS. 1 and 2, the unit dose 1 comprises a tablet 2 containing three populations of
pellets 11, 12 and 13. Each pellet contains a core 3. The core contains a drug D and a water soluble
modulating agent, in this case sodium chloride (NaCl). These are held in place by a binding agent such
as polyvinylpyrrolidone. Completely enclosing each core 3 is a protective film coating made from a
water insoluble, water permeable film-forming polymer material. The thickness of coating is uniform
within a population and the coating thickness determines the lag time before the drug D is released into
the environment of use. The first population of pellets 11 have a thin coating 14, the second population
of pellets 12 have a thicker coating 15, and the third population of pellets 13 have the thickest coating
16. When the dosage form is exposed to the appropriate environment of use, such as the fluid in the gut,
the vagina, or the anus, the tablet 2 is dissolved, or loses its integrity, and the pellets are directly exposed
to the fluid. Water diffuses slowly through the coating to reach the core 3 and wet the drug D and the
modulating or osmotic agent NaCl. The osmotic agent competes with the drug for the water. As the
osmotic agent goes into solution, the osmotic pressure in the core increases, more water is drawn in and
the pellets swell. This is clearly visible in vitro, where they may double in size. This thins the
membrane. The dissolved drug diffuses through the thinner membrane more rapidly. FIG. 2 shows
graphically how the pellets of the three populations release their drug into an aqueous environment.
Superimposed upon a single set of coordinates are the release profiles for each of the three populations
of pellets, the graph 111 representing the concentration of the drug in solution versus time for the pellets
11, graph 112 for the pellets 12 and graph 113 for the pellets 13, all done in vitro in water at 37° C. It is
evident that the mean release time, the time when half of the drug in the pellets has been released, of
each population of pellets, times 211, 212, 213 are separated from one another by a time greater than
one hour to ensure effective pulsatile administration of drug.

The pH of various portions of the gut is considerably variable varying from a pH of 1 to a pH of 7.5 and
the transit time of solids through the gut is also variable both between individuals and within the same
individual under different circumstances. To ensure that these variables do not defeat the objective of
preset release time intervals, the coating may be made of material that is substantially pH independent in
its properties over the pH range encountered in the environment of use. The coating is comprised of
water-permeable, water-insoluble, film-forming polymer material such as cellulose ether derivatives,
acrylic resins, copolymers of acrylic acid and methacrylic acid esters with quaternary ammonium
groups, and copolymers of acrylic acid and methacrylic acid esters. Combined with the polymer material
is a hydrophobic agent such as the fatty acids, waxes, and the salts of the fatty acids such as magnesium
stearate and calcium stearate. The pharmaceutical grades may not be pure stearates but may contain
small amounts of other fatty acid salts. The hydrophobic agents are added to reduce the permeability of
the coating to water and are added in amounts of from 25% to more than 50% of the amount of polymer
material. It is common practice to add small amounts of stearates to coatings to reduce tackiness, but not
such very large amounts to reduce permeability. Plasticizers may also be added to the coating material to
reduce brittleness.

Referring now to FIG. 3, another embodiment of the invention 4 is shown in which there are two
populations of pellets within a tablet 2. The cores 3 may be formed as in FIG. 1. The coatings are all of
substantially the same thickness, but their permeability to water differs as a result of having different
proportions of the hydrophobic agent, magnesium stearate represented by the small circles 5. The rapid
release pellets 6 have magnesium stearate in amount thirty percent of the polymer material and the slow
release pellets 7 have fifty percent of magnesium stearate. Other agents or processing aids well known in
the pharmaceutical art may be used such as various plasticizers, binding material agents and the like.
The pellets may be mixed with a carrier medium or binder which medium loses its integrity when
exposed to the body cavity environment of use so that the pellets may be formed into a unit dose form of
tablets, suppositories and the like, which will disintegrate in the environment of use to release the
pellets. The unit dose form may be a water proof pouch from which the assemblage of populations of
pellets are emptied into food or other dosage forms well known in the art.

The following examples describe typical formulations of multiparticulate, pulsatile unit dosage forms
and methods of manufacture thereof:

Example I

80 grams of sodium chloride and 24 grams of polyvinylpyrrolidone are dissolved in 1.2 kilograms of
water and 400 grams of pulverized diltiazem hydrochloride are suspended therein.

In a fluidized bed coater, 400 grams of starch/sugar seeds (40/50 mean) are suspended in warm air and
spray coated with the diltiazem suspension until the seeds are uniformly coated with the desired drug
potency.

Magnesium stearate in isopropyl alcohol is mixed with Eudragit NE30D which is a trademarked
aqueous dispersion of a neutral copolymer based on ethyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate having 30%
dry substance, obtained from Rohm Pharma of Weiterstadt, Germany, in a proportion of two to 1 of
dried polymer to magnesium stearate. A sufficient amount of the polymer suspension is sprayed onto the
active cores to provide a particular film coating thickness to achieve a particular lag time and rate of
release for a population of pellets. The final coated pellets are dried at 50° C. for 2 hours to assure
complete removal of moisture to stabilize the core contents.
The procedure is repeated with at least one more batch using a different coating thickness to have a
different lag time and rate of release. In this example, two populations are prepared, one with a 10%
weight gain and one with a 30% weight gain of coating.

Unit doses are prepared by mixing the two populations together in predetermined proportions and
preparing tablets with the mixture by means well known in the art.

Example II

The active cores are prepared as in example I.

Magnesium stearate and triacetin plasticizer are mixed with Eudragit RS 30D suspension in a dry weight
ratio of 1:0.6:2, where Eudragit RS 30D is a trademarked aqueous dispersion of a copolymer based on
acrylic and methacrylic acid esters with a low content of quaternary ammonium groups.

The polymer suspension is coated on the cores as for example I, preparing a plurality of populations,
each having a particular coating thickness to provide a particular lag time and rate of release of drug in
an aqueous environment of use.

The different populations of pellets are mixed and the mixture used to prepare tablets as described for
example I.

Fluidized bed coaters are well known in the art and have been found useful in this process but other
coating apparatus and methods well known in the art may be used with the invention as well.

The terms "therapeutic agent" and "drug" as used herein includes, without limitation, antibiotics,
tranquilizers, agents acting on the heart, liver, kidney, central nervous system and muscles,
contraceptives, hormonal agents, antineoplastic agents useful in humans or animals and may include
combinations of drugs.

The terms "carrier medium" and "unit dosage form" includes, without limitation, discrete aggregates of
populations of pellets contained in pouches, or compressed into tablets or suppositories with binding
agent as a carrier medium whose integrity is not maintained in the environment of use. Agents
commonly used for forming tablets from populations of pellets include, but are not limited to, lactose,
microcrystalline cellulose, dicalcium phosphate, starches, polyvinylpyrrolidone as binders, disintegrants
and fillers and stearates as lubricants, with cocoa butter being prepared for suppositories. The dosage
form may be arranged to dissolve promptly in any aqueous medium or to resist dissolution in certain
environments such as enteric coated tablets which will not release pellets until they have passed the acid
stomach whose pH may be as low as 1, and reached the alkaline intestine whose pH may be 7.5.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, a first population of coated, drug containing pellets with
delayed release properties as described above is combined with a second population of pellets that do
not have a delayed release coating to provide a two pulse dosage unit, the first pulse appearing promptly
when the pellets of the second population are exposed to the environment and the second pulse being
delayed by the special coating on the first population of pellets. Optionally all of the therapeutic agent in
the unit dosage form may be in a single population to provide a single pulse, delayed by the release-
controlling coating.

The above disclosed invention has a number of particular features which should preferably be employed
in combination although each is useful separately without departure from the scope of the invention.
While I have shown and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that
the invention may be embodied otherwise than as herein specifically illustrated or described, and that
certain changes in the form and arrangement of parts and the specific means of practicing the invention
may be made within the underlying ideas or principles of the invention within the scope of the appended
claims.

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Constant release system with pulsed release
United States Patent 4777049
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An osmotic delivery system is disclosed for delivering a useful agent at a controlled and constant rate
modulated by a pulsed delivery of the useful agent to an environment of use.
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US Patent References:
Solid pharmaceutical formulations for slow, zero order release via controlled surface erosion: expanded
range
Powell et al. - September, 1985 - 4539198

Drug dispenser comprising wall formed of semipermeable member and enteric member
Edgren - June, 1985 - 4522625

Process for manufacturing device with dispersion zone

Ayer et al. - August, 1981 - 4285987
Osmotic system with distribution zone for dispensing beneficial agent
Ayer et al. - April, 1980 - 4200098

Osmotic system for the controlled and delivery of agent over time
Theeuwes - September, 1978 - 4111202

Inventors:
Magruder, Paul R. (Palo Alto, CA)
Barclay, Brian (Menlo Park, CA)
Wong, Patrick S. L. (Hayward, CA)
Theeuwes, Felix (Los Altos, CA)
Application Number:
07/001599
Publication Date:
10/11/1988
Filing Date:
01/08/1987
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation
Assignee:
ALZA Corporation (Palo Alto, CA)
Primary Class:
424/457
Other Classes:
424/468, 604/892.100
International Classes:
A61K9/00; A61M31/00; A61K9/48; A61K9/52
Field of Search:
604/892, 604/893, 424/457, 424/468, 260/500.5H
View Patent Images:
Download PDF 4777049 PDF help
US Patent References:
407740
Osmotic devices having composite wallsMarch, 1978 Theeuwes et al.128/260
7
364435 260/500.5
N/A February, 1972Lunts et al.
3 H
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Foreign References:
GB1453034 October, 1976 424/468
Other References:
65455k Chem. Abstracts, vol. 83, 1975; p. 445.
Primary Examiner:
Schofer, Joseph L.
Assistant Examiner:
Teskin F. M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
Sabatine, Paul L.
Mandell, Edward L.
Precivale, Shelley G.
Parent Case Data:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO COPENDING APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 06/556,985 filed Dec. 1, 1983, now
abandoned, and this application is copending with U.S. Ser. No. 07/001,135 filed on Jan. 7, 1987, now
U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,071. These applications are assigned to ALZA Corporation of Palo Alto, Calif. and
benefit is claimed of the prior filing date.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains to an osmotic delivery system. More particularly, the invention relates to an
osmotic system that delivers a beneficial agent (1) at a modulated pulsed rate followed by a substantially
constant state, (2) at a substantially constant rate interrupted by a time related pulsed delivery of an
increased amount of beneficial agent, (3) at a substantially constant rate followed by a terminal pulsed
delivery of an increased amount of beneficial agent, or (and) a terminal pulse followed by a substantially
zero order delivery period from the osmotic system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Osmotic delivery systems, manufactured as an osmotic delivery device, for delivering useful agents are
becoming increasingly important articles of commerce and manufacture. These osmotic devices enjoy a
wide application in the pharmaceutical, veterinary, husbandry and agriculture industries. The osmotic
devices used by these industries exhibit a beneficial agent release rate that is substantially constant, once
thermodynamic steady state conditions are established by the osmotic device. If the thermodynamic
activity of the beneficial agent is maintained substantially constant in the device, then a steady state will
be established with the release rate of agent from the device being constant over a prolonged period of
time. This is commonly referred to as zero order release, a phrase suggested by physical-chemical
kinetics.

The above described osmotic systems represent an outstanding advancement in the zero order delivery
art for dispensing a beneficial agent continuously and at a constantly controlled rate. Now, it has been
unexpectedly discovered a therapeutic result can be effected by a pulse dose of agent delivery. For
example, estradiol administered at a low pulsed dose inhibits gonada-tropin secretion, while at high
pulsed doses estradiol stimulates the ovulating surge of gonadotropin secretion, as reported in Drugs,
Vol. 23, pages 207-226, 1982. Other therapeutic agents that produce a beneficial medical effect in this
manner are pulsed methylprednisolone treatment of collagenic and progressing glomerulonephritis;
pulsed cyclophosphamide-vincristine-adriamycin to patients suffering with neuroblastoma; pulsed
rifampicin therapy in leprosy; pulsed oxytocin in the induction of labor; and pulsed insulin for the
control of hyperglycemia., as reported in Fertil. and Steril., Vol. 39, pages 695-699, 1983; Vutr. Boles,
Vol 21, pages 65-74, 1982; Br. J. Cancer, Vol 45, pages 86-94, 1982; Fert. and Steril., Vol. 36, pages
553-559, 1981; Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys., Vol. 8, pages 915-919, 1982; J. Clin. Endocrinol.
Metab., Vol. 53, pages 184-91, 1981; and, Diabetes, Vol. 26, pages 571-581, 1977.

Heretobefore, the prior art lacked a delivery system for administering a useful agent at a pulsed rate,
particularly at a pulsed rate joined with a zero order rate of delivery. Thus, in the light of the above
presentation, it will be readily appreciated by those versed in the dispensing art, that a critical need
exists for a delivery system that can deliver a useful agent at a substantially zero order rate which is (a)
preceeded by a pulsed delivery of the useful agent, (b) interrupted by a pulsed delivery of the agent, (c)
terminated by a pulsed delivery of the agent, or (d) is a terminal pulse followed by a substantially
constant delivery from the osmotic system. It will be further appreciated by those versed in the art, that it
is a novel and useful device made available for delivering an agent at a constant rate and pulsed rate,
such a device would have a positive value and also represent a valuable contribution to the dispensing
art.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, in the light of the above presentation, it becomes an immediate object of this invention to
provide a novel and useful delivery device that can deliver a useful agent at a controlled rate
accompanied by a timed pulsed delivery of an increased amount of useful agent.

Another object of the invention is to provide an osmotic delivery system that can deliver a beneficial
drug at a controlled and constant rate with a time dependent pulsed delivery occurring when
thermodynamic conditions have been established in the osmotic delivery system for effecting the pulsed
delivery of the useful agent.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide more effective drug therapy by making available an
osmotic delivery system for achieving maximum therapeutic action by delivering a drug at controlled
rate at a constant concentration for a specific period that is accompanied by a concomitant pulsed
delivery of drug for achieving optimum drug benefits.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an osmotic drug delivery system that administers a drug
concentration within an effective therapeutic range for the minimum period needed for treatment
followed by the drug released in a pulsed dose needed for the final therapeutic treatment.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an osmotic delivery system that administers a useful
agent at a pulsed rate followed by a substantially zero order rate of useful agent delivery over a
prolonged period of time.

Still yet another object of the invention is to provide an osmotic delivery system having modes of
administration comprising steady drug delivery with a pulsed frequency of drug delivery, which system
can be used in a method for dispensing a drug as a complete pharmaceutical regimen to a human, the use
of which requires intervention only for initiation, and optionally termination of the regime.

Yet still another object of the invention is to provide an osmotic delivery system that dispenses a useful
agent having terminal pulse followed by a substantially zero order delivery period of useful agent from
the osmotic system.

Yet still another object of the invention is to provide an osmotic delivery system characterized by zero
order drug release with a late drug delivery in an amount greater than the amount delivered at zero order
release from the device, for supplying an increased amount of drug to a patient requiring more drug at a
particular time of the day or night to maintain proper therapeutic efficacy.

Another object is to provide zero order delivery of useful agent followed by a useful agent pulse at the
end of the regimen in order to increase the extent of absorption from the dosage form.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more apparent to those skilled in the
dispensing art from a reading of the detailed description of the specification, taken in conjunction with
the claims.

Claims:
We claim:

1. An osmotic system for the delivery of a beneficial agent to an environment of use, comprising:

(a) a wall formed of a semipermeable composition permeable to the passage of an exterior fluid, and
substantially impermeable to the passage of beneficial agent, the wall surrounding and forming:

(b) a compartment containing a beneficial agent and a modulating agent which modulating agent is a
means for providing a pulsed delivery of the beneficial agent; and,

(c) a passageway through the wall communicating the exterior of the system with the interior of the
system for delivering the beneficial agent to the environment of use.

2. The osmotic system for the delivery of a beneficial agent to an environment of use according to claim
1, wherein the modulating agent is present in an amount that falls below saturation in fluid that enters
the osmotic system thereby producing a pulsed delivery of beneficial agent that is followed by a
substantially zero order delivery of beneficial agent.

3. The osmotic system for the delivery of a beneficial agent to an environment of use according to claim
1, wherein the beneficial agent solubility is enhanced in fluid imbibed into the osmotic system and in the
presence of the modulating agent thereby producing a pulsed delivery of beneficial agent that interrupts
a susbstantially zero order delivery of beneficial agent.

4. The osmotic system for the delivery of a beneficial agent to an environment of use according to claim
1, wherein the modulating agent decreases in concentration in fluid that enters the osmotic system
thereby producing a pulsed delivery of beneficial agent that follows a substantially zero order delivery
of beneficial agent.

5. The osmotic system for the delivery of a beneficial agent to an environment of use according to claim
1, wherein when the osmotic system is in operation in the environment of use, fluid is imbibed through
the wall into the osmotic system accompanied by a pulsed delivery of beneficial agent from the osmotic
systems is a larger amount than the amount of beneficial agent delivered at substantially zero order.

6. The osmotic system for delivery of a beneficial agent to an environment of use according to claim 1,
wherein the wall comprises a member selected from the group consisting of a cellulose ester, cellulose
diester, cellulose triester, cellulose ether, and a cellulose ester-ether and the ratio of the amount of
modulating agent to useful agent present in the osmotic system is given by the formula 0<R<(So /Sd)
wherein R is the ratio, and So is the mutual solubility of the modulating agent and Sd is the mutual
solubility of the useful agent.

7. The osmotic system for the delivery of a beneficial agent to an environment of use according to claim
1, wherein the modulating agent is a member selected from the group consisting of an inorganic acid, an
organic acid, a base and a salt.

8. The osmotic device for the controlled delivery of a beneficial agent to an environment of use
according to claim 1, wherein the beneficial agent is a drug.

9. The osmotic device for the controlled delivery of a beneficial agent to an environment of use
according to claim 1, wherein the environment of use is an animal.

10. An osmotic device for the controlled delivery of salbutamol, the osmotic device comprising:

(a) a wall formed of a nontoxic material permeable to the passage of an exterior fluid and substantially
impermeable to the passage of salbutamol and a modulating agent, which wall surrounds and defines:

(b) a compartment containing salbutamol and a modulating agent, said modulating agent present in an
amount less than the amount needed for it to maintain saturation in fluid imbibed into the device,
thereby letting the amount of salbutamol in solution increase in fluid imbibed into the device and give a
pulsed release of salbutamol; and,

(c) a passageway through the wall communicating with the exterior of the device for the controlled
delivery of salbutamol from the osmotic device.

11. A process for delivering a useful agent at a zero order rate modulated by a pulsed rate, wherein said
process comprises the steps of:

(a) placing in an environment of use an osmotic delivery device, the device comprising:
(1) a wall formed of a semipermeable polymeric composition permeable to the passage of an exterior
fluid, and substantially impermeable to the passage of useful agent and modulating agent, which wall
surrounds and forms;

(2) a compartment containing a useful agent and a modulating agent, said modulating agent being a
means for pulsing the delivery of useful agent from the osmotic device; and,

(3) a passageway in the wall connecting the exterior of the osmotic device with the interior of the
osmotic device;

(b) imbibing fluid from the environment through the semipermeable wall into the osmotic device; and,

(c) delivering the useful agent through the passageway to the environment of use at a substantially zero
order rate modulated by a pulsed rate delivery of the useful agent.

12. The process for delivering the useful agent at a zero order rate modulated by a pulsed rate according
to claim 11, wherein the modulating agent is present in the osmotic device in an amount such that as the
modulating agent is delivered from the osmotic device the concentration of modulating agent falls below
saturation in fluid imbibed into the osmotic device, whereby the solubility of the useful agent increases
in the imbibed fluid and is delivered from the osmotic device in a pulsed amount to the environment of
use.

13. An osmotic system for the delivery of a beneficial agent to an environment of use, comprising:

(a) a wall formed of a semipermeable composition permeable to the passage of an exterior fluid, and
substantially impermeable to the passage of beneficial agent, the wall surrounding and forming:

(b) a compartment containing a beneficial agent and a modulating agent which modulating agent is a
means for providing a pulsed delivery of the beneficial agent and is a therapeutically acceptable salt
having a common ion with the beneficial agent; and,

(c) a passageway through the wall connecting the exterior of the osmotic system with the interior of the
system for delivering the beneficial agent to the environment of use.

14. A process for delivering a useful agent at a release rate pattern comprising a constant rate of release
and a pulsed rate of release within the same release rate period from an osmotic delivery system,
wherein said process comprises:

(a) placing in an environment of use an osmotic delivery system, the system comprising:
(1) a wall formed of a semipermeable polymeric composition permeable to an exterior fluid, and
substantially impermeable to the passage of useful agent and modulating agent, which wall surrounds
and forms;

(2) a compartment containing a useful agent and a modulating agent, said modulating agent being a
means for pulsing the delivery of the useful agent from the osmotic system which modulating agent is a
pharmaceutically acceptable salt and has a common ion with the useful agent

(3) a passageway in the wall connecting the exterior of the osmotic system with the interior of the
osmotic system;

(b) imbibing fluid from the environment through the semipermeable wall into the osmotic system; and,

(c) delivering the useful agent through the passageway at the release rate pattern from the osmotic
system.

Description:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1a-4c illustrate the release rate profiles for conventional cosolubilization of useful and modulating
agents and for cosolubilization according to this invention.

FIGS. 5 and 6 depict the osmotic useful agent delivery device of Example 1.

FIGS. 7 and 8 respectively show the release rate pattern for and cumulative amount of useful agent
delivered by the device of Example 1.

FIGS. 9-11 show the osmotic devices of Examples 2-5, respectively.

FIGS. 12 and 13 respectively illustrate the measured and cumulative release rate patterns for the osmotic
device of Example 7.

FIG. 14 tabulates experimental data of the solubility of a useful agent, salbutamol, in different
concentrations of modulating agent, NaCl.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This invention resides in the unexpected discovery that an osmotic delivery system can be provided
having a modulated release kinetic pattern. The invention provides an osmotic system that delivers a
useful agent at a substantial zero order rate of release for a given period of time, modulated by a time
dependent pulsed delivery of a greater than zero order amount of useful agent delivered from the
osmotic system. The zero order pattern can be modulated by a pulse that precedes the zero order pattern,
or by a zero order pattern modulated by a pulsed delivery that interrupts the zero order, or a modulated
pulse can occur at the end of the zero order delivery or by a terminal pulse followed by zero order
delivery. The unique release kinetics are achieved by charging the osmotic system with the useful agent
and a modulating agent. The modulating agent is present in an amount such that it is the first of the two
agents to fall below saturation in the osmotic system. When this occurs, the useful agent solubility
increases and concomitantly the amount of useful agent released increases, giving the pulsed release for
the system.

The useful agent and the modulating agent are delivered by an osmotic system manufactured as an
osmotic device. The osmotic device comprises a wall that surrounds and defines a compartment. The
compartment contains both a dosage unit amount of a beneficial agent and an effective amount of a
modulating agent. The compartment optionally contains dispensing ingredients used for easy
manufacture and controlled delivery. A passageway in the wall connects the compartment with the
exterior of the osmotic device for delivering the useful agent from the osmotic device.

The wall of the osmotic delivery device is formed of a semipermeable composition that does not
adversely affect the useful agent, the modulating agent, and the environment of use. The wall is formed
of a semipermeable composition that is permeable to the passage of an external fluid, such as water and
biological fluids, and it is impermeable to the passage of useful agent, the modulating agent and other
ingredients present in the compartment. The selectively permeable polymers useful for manufacturing
the osmotic device are represented by a member selected from the group consisting essentially of a
cellulose ester, cellulose diester, cellulose triester, cellulose ether, cellulose ester-ether, cellulose acylate,
cellulose diacylate, cellulose triacylate, cellulose acetate, cellulose diacetate, cellulose triacetate,
cellulose acetate propionate, and cellulose acetate butyrate. Suitable semipermeable polymers useful for
manufacturing osmotic devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,845,770; 3,916,899; 4,008,719;
4,036,228; and 4,111,210. These patents are assigned to the ALZA Corporation of Palo Alto, Calif., the
assignee of this patent application.

In an embodiment, the wall of osmotic device can be a laminate comprising a semipermeable lamina in
laminar arrangement with a microporous lamina. The semipermeable lamina is formed of the above
polymers. The microporous lamina comprises a plurality of micropores and interconnected micropaths
for admitting external fluid into the osmotic device. The microporous lamina can comprise the above
polymers additionally housing a pore former that is dissolved, or leached from the lamina, when the
osmotic device is in dispensing operation in the biological fluid environment of use. The pore formers
are non-toxic, and they do not react with the materials forming the microporous lamina. On their
removal from the lamina, the paths formed fill with fluid, and these paths become a means for fluid to
enter the osmotic device, acting in cooperation with the semipermeable lamina. Typical pore formers are
represented by sodium chloride, potassium chloride, sorbitol, mannitol, polyethylene glycol,
hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, and hydroxypropyl butylcellulose. Osmotic dispensing devices having a
laminated wall comprising a semipermeable lamina and a microporous lamina are disclosed in U.S. Pat.
No. 4,160,452, assigned to the ALZA Corporation. The osmotic device in another embodiment can be
coated on its exterior surface with a coating containing a dye. The coating is non-toxic and water
soluble, containing a non-toxic dye. The coating can be on the semipermeable wall, or it can be on the
laminated wall. For example, the coating can comprise hydroxypropyl methylcellulose mixed with
Food, Drug and Cosmetic pharmaceutically acceptable lake dye.
The expression passageway as used herein for an osmotic device includes an aperture, orifice, bore, hole
and the like embracing osmotic dimensions through the wall. The expression also includes an erodible
element in the wall, such as a gelatin plug that erodes and forms an osmotic passageway in the
environment of use. A detailed description of osmotic passageways, and the maximum and minimum
dimensions for osmotic passageways are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,845,770 and 3,916,899. These
patents are assigned to the ALZA Corporation.

The compartment of the osmotic device contains the useful agent and the modulating agent present in
nonequilibrium proportions. Prior to this invention, the compartment contained, for example, a useful
agent and an osmotic agent present in ratio, which represented the ratio of mutual solubility between the
two components in the compartment. In this invention, the useful agent and the modulating agent are
present in a nonequilibrium ratio. The modulating agent, which acts as a suppressant optionally termed a
desolubilizer for the useful agent, is used initially in an amount sufficient for it to be the first of the two
agents to fall below saturation. Concurrent with this thermodynamic result, the solubility of the useful
agent is enhanced, thereby increasing the amount of useful agent released at the pulsed moment.

The solubility of the useful agent is lowered when cosolubilized with a modulating agent. More
specifically, the process occurs in the presence of fluid imbibed through the semipermeable wall into the
compartment, whereby in the presence of the imbibed fluid the modulating agent diminishes the
solubility of the useful agent. In conventional cosolubilization, the useful agent and the osmotic agent
are present in an equilibrium ratio, and the release rate profile follows the traditional pattern as seen in
FIG. 1a and FIG. 1b. In FIGS. 1a and 1b, the release rate profile for both the useful agent, line a, and the
modulating agent, line b, are linear over time, and then both decline in a like manner as the
concentration of both a and b fall below saturation in the fluid in the compartment. In this invention,
cosolubilization of the useful agent and the modulating agent are exemplified by a nonequilibrium ratio,
and the release rate profile is depicted in FIG. 2a and 2b. In FIG. 2a, the concentration of the modulating
agent b, is below the equilibrium ratio in the compartment, and it is exhausted at an earlier time than the
exhaustion of the useful agent a. Consequently, there is a drastic increase in the solubility of the useful
agent a, in the less than saturated modulating agent solution, and the release rate for the useful agent is
actually increased as seen by curve a in FIG. 2b. A further reduction of the concentration of the
modulating agent will result in the pair of release rate profiles illustrated in FIG. 3a and FIG. 3b. FIG. 3a
illustrates the release rate profile for the reduced modulating agent b concentration, and FIG. 3b
illustrates the delay release of useful agent a resulting from the reduction of the concentration of the
modulating agent. In the light of this presentation, it becomes evident this invention provides both an
osmotic system and a method for preprogramming to a desired time of release, a delayed release, or a
delayed pulsed release of useful agent, that in either instance is achieved by adjusting the conentration of
the modulating agent in the osmotic system.

The timing of the pulsed delivery of useful agent is a function of the amount of modulating agent and
the properties of the osmotic system. The timing of the pulsed release to start is represented by the
following formula: ##EQU1## wherein T is the time of beginning of pulsed delivery; Mo is the weight
of the modulating agent present in the osmotic device initially; h is the thickness of the semipermeable
wall; S t is the total solubility of both the modu1ating agent and the useful agent in the osmotic device; p
is the density of the total mass in the osmotic device; S o is the mutual solubility of the modulating agent
in aqueous media; Δπ t is the total osmotic pressure generated by of both the modulating agent and the
useful agent in the osmotic device; K is the permeability of the semipermeable wall; and A is the total
surface area of the compacted mass present in the compartment of the osmotic device.

The expression useful agent as used herein denotes an algicide, air purifier, anti-oxidant, biocide,
catalysts, chemical reactant, cosmetic, drug, disinfectant, fungicide, fermentation agent, food, food
supplement, fertility inhibitor, fertility promotor, germicide, herbicide, insecticide, micro-organism
attenuator, nutrient, pesticide, plant growth promotor, plant growth inhibitor, preservative, sex sterilant,
sterilization agent, vitamin, and other useful agents that benefit the environment of use.

In the specification and the accompanying claims, the term drug includes any physiologically or
pharmacologically active substance that produces a localized or systemic effect in animals, including
warm blooded animals, mammals, humans, primates, avians, reptiles, and pisces. The term animals also
includes domestic household animals, sport and farm animals, such as sheep, goats, cattle, horses, and
pigs, and for administering to laboratory animals, jungle animals and zoo animals. The active drug can
include inorganic and organic compounds without limitation, those materials that act on the central
nervous system such as hypnotics and sedatives, psychic energizers, tranquilizers, antidepressants,
anticonvulsants, muscle relaxants, antiparkinson, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anesthetic, muscle
contractant, anti-infective, anti-microbial, anti-malarial, hormonal agents, sympathomimetic, metabolic
aberration correcting agents, diuretics, anti-parasitic, neoplastic, hypoglycemic, nutritional, fat,
ophthalmic, elutrolyte, cardiac and diagnostic agents. The drugs act on the peripheral nerves, adrenergic
receptors, cholinergic receptors, nervous system, skeletal muscles, cardiovascular, smooth muscles,
blood circulatory system, synoptic sites, neuroeffector junctional sites, endocrine and hormone systems,
immunological system, reproductive system, skeletal system, autocoid system, alimentary and excretory
system, inhibitory of autacoids and histamine systems, and system that acts on all sites of the central
nervous system. The amount of useful agent present in an osmotic system is generally for a drug dosage
unit amount to give the desired therapeutic effect. Generally, the osmotic system can house from 0.05 ng
to 5 g or more, with individual systems containing for example, 25 ng, 1 mg, 5 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg, 125
mg, 250 mg, 500 mg, 750 mg, 1.5 g and the like.

The modulating agents useful for the purpose of this invention are soluble in aqueous and biological
fluids, such as ionizing compounds, inherently polar compounds, inorganic acids, organic acids, bases
and salts, and salts containing a common ion with the drug. In a preferred embodiment the compounds
are solids and they dissolve and form a solution with fluids imbibed into the osmotic device. Examplary
inorganic salts are represented by a member selected from the group consisting essentially of lithium
chloride, lithium sulfate, magnesium chloride, magnesium sulfate, potassium chloride, potassium
sulfate, potassium acid phosphate, sodium chloride, sodium sulfate, sodium sulfite, sodium nitrate,
sodium nitrite, and the like. Salts of organic acids are represented by a member selected from the group
consisting essentially of sodium citrate, potassium acid tartrate, potassium bitartrate, sodium bitartrate,
and the like. Representative of a therapeutically acceptable salt having a common ion effect with a
useful agent or drug is sodium chloride and sodium indomethacin; triflupromazine hydrochloride and
sodium chloride; or phenelzine sulfate and sodium sulfate. The ionizable solid acids useful as
modulating agents are represented by a member selected from the group consisting essentially of
tartaric, citric, maleic, malic, fumaric, tartronic, itaconic, adipic, succinic, mesaconic acid, and the like.
The basic compounds are represented by a member selected from the group consisting essentially of
potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, ammonium carbonate, and the like.
The concentration of the modulating agent inside the osmotic system during its non-zero order period
from an osmotic device is given by equation 1. ##EQU2## wherein C o is the concentration of
modulating agent in the osmotic device during its non-zero order period, V t is the total internal volume
of the osmotic device, Z o is the zero order release rate of the modulating agent, S o is the solubility of the
modulating agent, t is the time at the start of the delivery, and t z is the zero order delivery time of the
modulating agent. The release rate pattern for the modulating agent of equation 1 is depicted in FIG. 4a.

Conversely, the solubility of the useful agent increases with the decrease of the modulating agent
concentration such that as the concentration of the modulating agent C o approaches zero, C o ➝0, the
concentration of the useful agent Cd inside the osmotic system equals the solubility of the useful agent
Sd in water, Cd=Sd at large value. Also, when the concentration of the modulating agent C o equals the
saturated solubility S o of the modulating agent, the concentration of the useful agent Cd equals the
concentration of the mutual solubility of the useful agent and the modulating agent, Cd=S°d at small
value, as depicted by FIG. 4b. The Table shown in FIG. 14 lists experimental data of the solubility of a
useful agent, salbutamol, in different concentrations of modulating agent, NaCl.

The concentration of useful agent decreases nomotonically between these two limits as the modulating
agent's concentration is exhausted over time. The useful agent rate of release from the osmotic device is
represented by equation 2. ##EQU3## wherein (dm/dt)d is the release rate of the useful agent, k is the
water permeability of the semipermeable membrane, A is the surface area of the osmotic device, h is the
thickness of the semipermeable membrane, Cd is the concentration of useful agent in the osmotic
device, and πt is the osmotic pressure generated by the formulation consisting of useful agent and
modulating agent.

Thus, as C o continually diminishes according to equation 1, C d increases from a small value S o d to a

large value S d thus resulting in a large increase in (dm/dt) d according to equation 2, accompanied by a
pulse in the release profile as seen in FIG. 4c, wherein (dm/dt) o is the release rate of the modulating
agent. In the osmotic device, the total driving force for the drug delivery is the product of π t C d . The π t
C d is maximum at certain concentration of the modulating agent. In the example given in Table I, the
peak of the pulse occurs at about C o /S o ≉ζ38. Accordingly, the ratio of modulating agent to useful
agent, R, can be any value 0<R<(S o /S d ) in which S o /S d is the mutual solubility of the useful agent in
the modulating agent.

The useful agent and the modulating agent can be present in the compartment mixed with a binder, dye,
lubricant, dispersant, and like pharmaceutical compounding ingredients. The pharmaceutical
compounding ingredients include binders such as poly(ethylene glycol), gelatin, agar, carboxycellulose,
poly(vinyl alcohol), and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone). Typical lubricants include stearic acid, magnesium
stearate, zinc stearate, aluminum stearate, halogenated vegetable oil, and talc. The compartment can
contain also a disintegrant to effect dissolution and solution forming of the useful agent and the
modulating agent, for enhancing controlled delivery from the osmotic device. Typical disintegrants
include lightly cross-linked poly(vinyl pyrrolidone), corn starch, potato starch, Veegum, bentonite, and
citrus pulp. The coloring agents include Food, Drug and Cosmetic approved non-toxic dyes such as blue
number 1 in lactose. Optionally, the dye in the compartment, and a dye in the wall can be the same dye
or a different dye. The amount of a binder, a lubricant, or a disintegrant usually is about 0.01% to 20%
respectively of the total weight present in the compartment.
The osmotic systems provided by this invention containing the useful agent, the modulating agent and
other ingredients are manufactured by standard manufacturing techniques. For example, in one
embodiment the useful agent is mixed in a nonequilibrium ratio with the modulating agent, and other
compartment core ingredients by balling, calendering, stirring, and pressing the ingredients into a
preselected shape corresponding to the shape of the final osmotic device. The material forming the wall
of the device can be applied by dipping, molding or spraying the pressed blend. One procedure for
applying the semipermeable wall, or the laminated wall is the air suspension technique. This technique
can be used for manufacturing a wall formed of a single layer, or for forming a laminated wall formed of
two layers. The air suspension procedure is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,799,241; in J. Am. Pharm.
Assoc., Vol. 48, pgs. 451 to 459, 1959., and in ibid, Vol. 49, pgs. 82 to 84, 1960. An osmotic
passageway is made by mechanical drilling, laser drilling, punching or cutting with a die. A procedure
for forming the passageway using a laser is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,916,899; and in 4,088,864,
both assigned to the ALZA Corporation. The osmotic delivery device designed for oral administration
can embrace various conventional shapes and sizes such as round with a diameter of 3/16 inches to 9/16
inches, or it can be shaped like a solid capsule having a range of sizes from triple zero to zero, and from
1 to 8. In these forms, the osmotic device is sized, shaped, structured and adapted for administering the
useful agent to warm-blooded animals, which includes humans. Other standard manufacturing
procedures are described in Modern Plastic Encyclopedia, Vol. 46, pgs. 62 to 70, 1969; in Remington's
Pharmaceutical Sciences, 14th Ed., pgs. 1649 to 1698; and in The Therapy and Practice of K. Industrial
Pharmacy, by Lackmann et al., pgs. 197 to 225, 1970.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLES OF THE INVENTION

The following examples are merely illustrative of the present invention and they should not be
considered as limiting the scope of the invention in any way, as these examples and other equivalents
thereof will become more apparent to those versed in the dispensing art in the light of the present
disclosure and the accompanying claims.

EXAMPLE 1

An osmotic therapeutic device for the controlled delivery of the β-adrenergic stimulant and
bronchodilator salbutamol, or α-(tertbutylamino)methyl]-4-hydroxy-m-xylene-αα'-diol-he misulfate,
delivered at a constant rate modulated by a pulsed rate is made as follows: first, the solubility of
salbutamol hemisulfate (hereafter salbutamol) and the modulating agent sodium chloride were measured
in distilled water at 37° C. and the measurements indicated the following solubilities: solubility of
salbutamol in water is 275 mg/ml, solubility of salbutamol in saturated solution of sodium chloride is 16
mg/ml, solubility of sodium chloride in water is 321 mg/ml, solubility of sodium chloride in saturated
solution of salbutamol is 320 mg/ml, and, the total solubility of salbutamol in saturated sodium chloride
and sodium chloride in water is 16 plus 320 equal to 336 mg/ml.

Next, a composition is prepared containing salbutamol and sodium chloride in a ratio of 1:5 as follows:
first, 14.45 mg of salbutamol, 72.30 mg of sodium chloride, 1.8 mg of cross-linked sodium
carboxymethylcellulose, and 1.8 mg of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) are passed through a 60 mesh screen and
mixed in a blender for 1 hour. Then, the blended ingredients are transferred to a larger blender and 8 ml
of a granulating fluid consisting of ethanol:water, 90:10, is added thereto and all the ingredients blended
for about 20 minutes. The homogenously blended ingredients next are passed through a 20 mesh screen
and dried in a forced air oven at 50° C. for 12 hours. After drying, the granules are mixed with 0.9 mg of
magnesium stearate and blended for 10 minutes. The granules are transferred to a conventional Manesty
tablet press and compressed with a standard round 5/32 inch dye to a hardness of 1.5 to 2 Kp. The area
of the compressed drug core measured 0.41 cm 2 and weighed 91.3 mg.

The compressed core is transferred to an Aeromatic® air suspension coater, and a wall consisting of
cellulose acetate having an acetyl content is coated around the core. The semipermeable wall is formed
from a composition comprising 42.5% (12.75g) of cellulose acetate having an acetyl content of 39.8%,
42.5% (12.75g) of cellulose acetate having an acetyl content of 32.0%, 15% (4.5g) of hydroxypropyl
methyl cellulose in a cosolvent consisting of methylene chloride-methanol, 80%-20% (588 ml -256 ml).
After the wall is formed around the reservoir, they are transferred to a forced air oven and air dried for
48 hours at 50° C. Next, an osmotic passageway having a diameter of 0.25 mm is laser drilled through
the semipermeable wall. The semipermeable wall weight is 5.9 mg.

The osmotic useful agent delivery device prepared by the example is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. In
FIG. 5, the osmotic device 10 is seen comprising a body 11 with a passageway 12 that connects the
exterior with the interior of osmotic device 10. In FIG. 6, osmotic device 10 is seen in opened section at
13 and it comprises semipermeable wall 14 that surrounds and defines internal compartment 15.
Compartment 15 contains useful drug salbutamol 16, modulating agent sodium chloride 17, and other
dispensing ingredients. In FIG. 7, the release rate pattern for the device is seen consisting of an
essentially zero order rate of release for 7 hours, modulated by a pulsed release of useful agent from 7 to
9 hours. FIG. 8 depicts the cumulative amount of useful agent salbutamol delivered over a 12 hour
delivery period. In the FIGS. 7 and 8, the bars represent the maximum and the minimum rate of release
at the time of measurement.

EXAMPLE 2

An oral, osmotic device for the controlled codelivery of salbutamol and the bronchodilator terbutaline
sulfate, 1-(3,5-dihydroxyphenyl)-2- (tert-butylamino) ethanol, at a constant rate interrupted by a pulsed
rate delivery is made as follows: first, 9.64 mg of salbutamol 5 mg of terbutaline sulfate, 24 mg of
sodium chloride, 0.71 mg of poly (vinyl pyrrolidone), and 0.71 mg of cross-linked sodium carboxyethyl
cellulose are blended and passed through a 60 mesh screen. The ratio of the salbutamol to sodium
chloride in the composition is 1 to 3. Next, 8 ml of a granulating fluid consisting of ethanol:water, 90:10,
is added to the screened blend, and all the ingredients blended for about 15 to 20 minutes. The well-
blended ingredients are passed through a 30 mesh screen and dried in a forced air oven for 12 to 15
hours at 50° C. After drying, the granules are mixed with 0.35 mg of stearic acid and blended for 10
minutes. Then, the blend is compressed into a precompartment forming drug formulation. The
compressed drug formulation is placed in an air suspension machine and coated with a microporous
lamina forming composition. The microporous lamina composition comprises 49% by weight of
cellulose acetate having an acetyl content of 39.8%, 28.5% by weight of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose,
and 22.5% by weight of polyethylene glycol 4000. The lamina is formed from a methylene chloride-
ethanol (95%) lamina solvent (80:20 wt:wt). The microporous lamina is 0.12 mm thick.

Next, an exterior semipermeable lamina is laminated onto the microporous lamina in the conventional
air suspension machine. The semipermeable lamina forming composition comprises 90% by weight of
cellulose acetate having an acetyl content of 39.8% and 10% cellulose acetate having an acetyl content
of 32%. The semipermeable lamina is applied in laminar arrangement from a solvent mixture
comprising methylene chloride and ethanol (80:20 wt:wt). The osmotic devices are dried and a
passageway having a diameter of 0.26 mm is drilled with a laser through the laminated wall. In FIG. 9,
osmotic device 10 is seen comprising body 11, passageway 12, opened section 13, outside
semipermeable wall 14, inside compartment 15, salbutamol 16, sodium chloride 17, inside microporous
wall 18 and terbutaline 19.

EXAMPLE 3

An oral, osmotic device for the controlled and continuous delivery of oxprenolol-HC1 modulated by a
pulsed release of oxprenolol-HC1 is made by following the general procedure described about. In the
osmotic device of this example, the compartment houses a drug formulation comprising a
nonequilibrium formulation of 1 part of oxprenolol-HC1 to 6 parts of potassium chloride:sodium
chloride (50:50) mixture. The compartment contains also 2 mg of dextrose, 2 mg of potato starch and 3
mg of magnesium stearate. The formulation after compressing has a diameter of 9 mm. The device has a
laminated wall consisting essentially of 60% by weight of cellulose acetate having an acetyl content of
43.5% and a degree of substitution of 3 and 40% by weight of cellulose acetate having an acetyl content
of 39.8 and a degree of substitution of 2.4. The semipermeable lamina is applied from a solvent
consisting essentially of methylene chloride and methanol, 80:20 by weight. The device has an exterior
microporous lamina consisting essentially of 55% by weight of cellulose acetate having an acetyl
content of 39.8%, 35% by weight of sorbitol, and 10% by weight of polyethylene glycol 400. The
lamina is applied from a solvent comprising methylene chloride-methanol, 90:10 by weight. The
semipermeable lamina is 0.12 mm thick, and the microporous lamina is 0.13 mm thick. The device has a
0.25 mm passageway.

EXAMPLE 4

The procedure of Example 1 is repeated to yield an osmotic device wherein the ratio of salbutamol to
sodium chloride is 1 to 7, and the compartment of the osmotic device contained a drug formulation
consisting essentially of 9.6 mg of salbutamol hemisulfate, 56 mg of sodium chloride, 1.4 mg of
poly(vinyl pyrrolidone), 1.4 mg of cross-linked sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and 0.6 mg of
magnesium stearate. The device delivers salbutamol for 12 hours and has a terminal pulsed release of
salbutamol as seen in FIG. 10. The osmotic device has a semipermeable wall 4.9 mils thick (0.13 mm),
comprising the semipermeable wall composition of Example 1.

EXAMPLE 5

The procedure of Example 1 is followed to yield an osmotic device wherein the ratio of salbutamol to
the modulating agent sodium chloride is 1 to 9. The compartment of the osmotic device contains a drug
formulation consisting essentially of 28.9 mg of salbutamol hemisulfate, 216 mg of sodium chloride, 5.2
mg of poly(vinylpyrrolidone), 5.2 mg of cross-linked sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, and 2.6 mg of
magnesium stearate. The osmotic device has a semipermeable wall weighing 20.1 mg comprising the
composition of Example 1. The device has a zero order rate of release of salbutamol for 16 hours
followed by an increased pulsed salbutamol for 8 hours. The 24 hour release pattern for the osmotic
device is illustrated in FIG. 11.
EXAMPLE 6

An oral osmotic device that delivers acebutolol, a β-adrenergic blocker, is sized, shaped and
manufactued for administration into the gastrointestional tract as follows: 10 parts of acebutolol
hydrochloride and 90 parts of potassium carbonate, 8.75 mg of noncross-linked poly(vinylpyrrolidone)
are mixed and passed through a 60 mesh stainless steel screen and blended for 1 hour at room
temperature. Next, the blended ingredients are transferred to a larger blender and 40 ml of a granulating
fluid consisting of ethanol:water, 90:10 by volume, is added to the blender, and the ingredients blended
for 20 minutes. The thoroughly blended ingredients are passed through a 30 mesh screen and dried in a
forced air oven at 50° C. for 16 to 17 hours.

Then, the dried granules are passed through a 20 mesh screen and 5 mg of magnesium stearate is added
to the granules. The ingredients are blended for 15 minutes, and the blended granules transferred to a
conventional Manesty press. The ingredients are compressed into acebutolol reservoirs having a
diameter of about 6 mm.

The acebutolol precompartment forming compositions are transferred to an air suspension coater and
surrounded with a semipermeable wall. The semipermeable wall is formed from a wall forming
composition comprising 35 g of cellulose acetate having an acetyl content of 39.8 from an organic
solvent consisting essentially of 550 ml of methylene chloride and 110 of methanol. After the
semipermeable wall is formed surrounding the drug reservoir, they are dried in a forced air oven for 50
hours at 50° C. Next, a 0.4 mm passageway is laser drilled through the semipermeable wall connecting
the interior compartment with the exterior of the osmotic device. The semipermeable wall weighed 8.6
mg and the device delivers the drug for 12 hours time span modulated by a terminal pulsed delivery.

EXAMPLE 7

The procedure of Example 1 is repeated to manufacture an osmotic device wherein the ratio of useful
agent salbutamol to modulating agent is 1 to 9 to produce a device wherein the pulsed delivery occurs
near the middle of the release pattern. In Example 7, the osmotic device comprises 9.3% by weight of
salbutamol, 1.9% by weight as the hemisulfate, 83.8% by weight of sodium chloride, 2% by weight of
cross-linked sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, 2% by weight of polyvinylpyrrolidone, and 1% by weight
of magensium stearate. The device has a semipermeable wall consisting of 42.5% by weight of cellulose
acetate having an acetyl content of 39.8%, 42.5% by weight of cellulose acetate having an acetyl content
of 32%, and 15% by weight of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose. The diameter of the passageway is 0.25
mm, the semipermeable wall weighs 4.8 mg and the wall is 0.06 mm thick. The measured release rate
pattern for the osmotic device is depicted in FIG. 12 and the cumulative amount released is illustrated in
FIG. 13.

The invention in one presently preferred embodiment pertains also to a method for delivering a drug at a
constant rate modulated by a pulsed delivery of the drug, which method comprises the steps of: (A)
admitting orally osmotic device shaped, sized and structured into the gastrointestional tract of a patient,
the osmotic device comprising: (a) a wall formed of a nontoxic semipermeable composition that is
permeable to the passage of an exterior fluid and substantially impermeable to the passage of drug and
modulating agent, the wall surrounding and forming; (b) a compartment containing a dosage unit
amount of drug and an effective amount of modulating agent which modulating agent is a means for
providing a pulsed delivery of drug, and (c) a passageway in the wall for communicating the exterior of
the osmotic device with the interior of the osmotic device; (B) imbibing exterior fluid through the
semipermeable wall into the compartment at a rate determined by the permeability of the semipermeable
wall and the osmotic pressure gradient across the semipermeable wall to form a solution comprising
drug that is hydrodynamically and osmotically delivered from the osmotic device., and (C) delivering
the drug in a therpeutically effective amount at a substantially constant rate accompanied by a pulsed
delivery of drug in an effective amount larger than the constant rate through the passageway to the
gastrointestional tract of the patient to produce the desired beneficial effect of the constant rate and the
pulsed rate of drug delivery over the prolonged period of time.

The osmotic devices also can be used as an implant, or a conduct can be attached to the passageway for
intravenous delivery of drug, or for subcutaneous delivery of drug. Drugs that can be delivered in a zero
order rate with a pulsed rate comprise a method for the controlled and substantially constant delivery of
salbutamol accompanied by a pulsed delivery of salbutamol; a method for the controlled and constant
delivery of acebutolol accompanied by a time-dependent pulsed delivery of acebutolol; a method for the
management of asthma which method comprises administering to a patient suffering with asthma a
therapeutically effective amount of salbutamol at a constant rate interrupted by a pulsed amount of
salbutamol for producing a beneficial effect in said asthmatic patient. The salbutamol and acebutolol
also can be administered in a method for producing bronchodilation in a patient in need of a
bronchodilator, particularly for acute and chronic patients. The beneficial agent is delivered at a
controlled and continuous rate over a period of time from 15 minutes to 24 hours accompanied by an
intermittent pulsed or terminal pulsed delivery of 15 minutes to 24 hours.

The invention provides an osmotic therapeutic system manufactured in the form of an osmotic device
for producing an improved drug delivery program. While there has been described and pointed out the
novel features of the invention as applied to presently preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art
will appreciate that various modifications, changes and omissions in the invention illustrated and
described can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.