Abstract

A REVIEW ON COLONIC DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM

Poonam Y. Purkar* and P. D. Dabir

Abstract

Colon specific drug delivery system has attracted considerable attention for the past few years in order to develop drug delivery systems that are able to release drugs specifically in the colon in a predictable and reproducible manner. The colon is a site where both local and systemic delivery of drugs can take place. Local delivery allows topical treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic pancreatitis, and colonic cancer. However, treatment can be made effective if the drugs can be targeted directly into the colon, thereby reducing the systemic side effects. In addition, drugs such as proteins and peptides that are known to degrade in the extreme gastric pH, if delivered to the colon intact, can be systemically absorbed by colonic mucosa. This review mainly contains, in brief, introduction of colon, factor affecting colonic delivery, colonic diseases, novel and emerging technologies for colon targeting and evaluation of colonic delivery.

Keywords: Colonic drug delivery, Colonic diseases, Novel approaches, Evaluations.