Controlled Drug Delivery: Fundamentals and Applications

Great strides have been made in the management of diseases through the intervention of drugs over the past 50 years, as judged by the introduction and success of immunizing agents, antibiotics, steroids, tranquilizers, and many other drugs. These accomplishments in drug development have not been matched by a similar growth in the area of drug delivery. Clearly, unless a drug can be delivered to its target area at a rate and concentration that both minimize side effects and maximize therapeutic effects, the drug will not be maximally beneficial to the patient and, in the extreme, an otherwise useful drug may be discarded.
Ib this book there are numerous review articles, chapters, and a few texts devoted to one or more topics in the sustained release drug or chemical area.