CHAPTER 10: Swelling-controlled Drug Delivery Systems

Polymeric smart materials have a significant role in providing tuneable and sustained release of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. This chapter is a review on the use of swelling controlled drug delivery systems in the pharmaceutical industry, examining the evolution of swellable polymeric materials into effective delivery systems for therapeutic agents. Within the sub-classes of swelling devices, swellable matrices and superdisintegrants, the discussion of swellable controlled drug delivery devices and systems focus on their structures, properties, and swelling mechanisms. Major factors influencing the manner of drug release will also be investigated, as will mathematical models used to predict drug release characteristics. In the final section, the potential drawbacks of swellable controlled drug delivery systems will be discussed.