An Insight into Osmotic Drug Delivery Systems

The dosing pattern of the conventional drug delivery system results in continuously changing and unpredictable plasma concentrations as this system has modest control on the release of the drug along with almost negligible effectual concentration near the site of interest. The problems coupled with conventional drug delivery can be triumphed over by employing osmotic drug delivery systems, which are one of the most budding strategies utilizing osmotic pressure to release active pharmaceutical ingredients in an optimized manner at a controlled rate. Various formulation parameters which influence the release of drugs from these systems include osmotic pressure wielded by the core components, the drug’s solubility, and the size of the delivery orifice in conjunction with the characteristics of the semipermeable membrane. However, it is completely autonomous of the gastrointestinal tract’s anatomical environment and concomitant meal ingestion. The aim of this manuscript is to study the earlier osmotic pumps, their working principles, along with their limitations, and novel approaches having significant benefits over older ones. The current manuscript covers all the aspects of the osmotic drug delivery system, including its principle of osmosis, the historical background, its advantages and disadvantages, basic components, various factors influencing its design, its various types, and evaluation parameters. Novel approaches to osmotic drug delivery systems along with future prospective have also been described.