Drug release, concept kinetics

Strobel et al. (101) reported a unique approach to delivery of anticancer agents from lactide/glycolide polymers. The concept is based on the combination of misonidazole or adriamycin-releasing devices with radiation therapy or hyperthermia. Prototype devices consisted of orthodontic wire or sutures dip-coated with drug and polymeric excipient. The device was designed to be inserted through a catheter directly into a brain tumor. In vitro release studies showed the expected first-order release kinetics on the monolithic devices. 

Drug delivery is often finked to the concepts of sustained release or controlled release, meaning that a pharmaceutical compound is released over a certain period of time or in a somehow predetermined way, respectively. While sustained suggests only that the drug is released over an extended period of time, controlled suggests that the kinetics are well defined, but does not necessarily imply that the release runs over long time periods. 

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