Evaluation of non-sink dialysis methods for the measurement of drug release from colloids: effects of drug partition

Abstract The technique of non-sink dialysis across a membrane has been used in the past for determining the release profiles of drugs from colloidal formulations. It is demonstrated that in most cases the results obtained are in fact independent of the release rate, and that the observed release rate is solely dependent on the partition coefficient of the drug between the colloid and its continuous phase. It is suggested that this may form a useful method for measuring partition in disperse systems.