Title: drug delivery system
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - drug delivery system
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.15177
Status: current

Definition
Sophisticated dosage form, which, by its construction, is able to modify/control the availability of the drug substance to the body by temporal or spatial considerations.

Example
controlled release, extended release, delayed release, delayed action, dosage form, depot, embedding, gradual release, fast release or immediate release (i.e., conventional dosage form), implants, liposome, long-acting, modified release, prolonged action, pulsatile release, slow release.

Related Terms
- controlled release: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15163
- delayed action: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15167
- depot: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15169
- dosage form: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15175
- embedding: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15183
- extended release: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15239
- fast release: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15187
- immediate release: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15198
- modified release: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15212

Source
- PAC, 2009, 81, 971. 'Glossary of terms related to pharmaceutics (IUPAC Recommendations 2009)' on page 982 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-04-10-14)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15177/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15177/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15177/xml

Citation: Citation: 'drug delivery system' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.15177
License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-05-10T05:23:17+00:00