Chronotherapy and chronotherapeutic formulations of NSAIDs in the management of rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Oral controlled drug delivery systems are the most common type of controlled drug delivery systems for oral route of drug administration with obvious benefits. These are usually designed in such a way that aimed at constant, variable, sustained drug release or targeting the drug to a particular site, tissue or organ. However, recently there are certain conditions for which conventional release pattern is not apt and it needs some type of timely release of drugs at specific sites. Chronopharmaceutics is a branch of pharmaceutics dedicated to the design and assessment of drug delivery systems that release the active ingredient at a rhythm that ideally matches in real time, the biological demand for a given illness therapy or prevention. These are conditions which demand release of medicament after a lag time. Ketoprofen (KP) is a promising drug candidate for fabrication of Pulsatile Drug Delivery System (PDDS) in many ways in the management of rheumatoid arthritis through chronotherapy.