A review on the sustained release of cardiovascular drugs through hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and sodium carboxymethylcellulose polymers

Abstract

In modern medical technology, several new types of polymeric membrane have been used for the sustained release (SR) of cardiovascular drugs. When these drugs are delivered continuously at a sustained rate over a predetermined time, a uniform and constant blood level is achieved due to the smaller amount of drug, thereby minimizing the side-effects. Among the many polymeric systems used in the SR of cardiovascular drugs, research on the usage of cellulose-based materials has been exhaustive. Of these, tremendous interest has been focused on the use of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and sodium carboxymethylcellulose (Na CMC) polymers as SR devices. This review critically discusses the useful published literature results on HPMC and Na CMC polymeric matrices for the period 1970-1997 in the area of SR of cardiovascular drugs.