Oral Drug Delivery Technology

In recent years, oral formulations development has undergone a phenomenal growth both in theory and practice. Especially, with the introduction of high throughput synthesis and screening, a great number of molecules are reaching the hands of a formulator, be it an industrial formulator or a practicing pharmacist. In both cases, the first formulations developed are intended to be administrator orally. For efficient oral formulations development, a thorough understanding of pharmaceutical technology is needed with a good comprehension of drug transport across the gastro-intestinal tract, new drug discovery, biopharmaceutics, pharmacokinetics, delivery systems, prodrugs and regulatory affairs. Attempts have been made to familiarize the readers with all these and their theoretical and practical aspects. A chapter on drug safety and two chapters on statistics with practical examples have been included. Each chapter is provided with questions, intended for the application of the theories and methods taught in that chapter, keeping in mind the syllabi for pharmaceutics, medicinal chemistry and pharmacology streams. A selective reference of the relevant recent literature on this field, comprising mostly of textbooks, monographs and review articles is given. This textbook can be adopted at any stage of university teaching. It would also be useful for the industrial personnel. This book would be called a complete guide for every pharmacist who wants to know on oral formulations.