A statistical mechanical model for drug release: Investigations on size and porosity dependence

A lattice gas model is proposed for investigating the release of drug molecules in capsules covered with semi-permeable membranes. Release patterns in one and two dimensional systems are obtained with Monte Carlo simulations and adjusted to the semi-empirical Weibull distribution function. An analytical solution to the diffusion equation is used to complement and guide simulations in one dimension. Size and porosity dependence analysis was made on the two semi-empirical parameters of the Weibull function, which are related to characteristic time and release mechanism, and our results indicate that a simple scaling law occurs only for systems with almost impermeable membranes, represented in our model by capsules with a single leaking site.