PERMEABILITY STUDIES ACROSS POLY(ALKYLENE CARBONATE) MEMBRANES

The maximum steady state flux, diffusion coefficients and solubilities of piroxicam, a water insoluble drug and theophylline, a water solubl e drug in poly(alkylene carbonate)s of varying alkyl chain lengths wer e determined and compared with poly(lactide)s. The permeabilities were found to be profoundly affected by the nature of the permeant as well as the polymer properties. Comparative studies in terms of overall pe rformance with other well known systems revealed that poly(alkylene ca rbonate)s were more permeable than glassy poly(lactide)s and thus show potential as carriers in polymeric drug delivery systems.