Amending the neglect of finite dissolution in traditional release models, this study proposed a more generalized drug release model considering the simultaneous dissolution and diffusion procedure from a drug-loaded spherical matrix. How the shape factor (n = 0, 1/2, and 2/3 for the planar, cylindrical, and spherical geometry, respectively) of dispersed drug particles affected the release from the matrix was examined for the first time. Numerical solutions of this generalized model were validated by consensus with a short-time analytical solution for planar drugs and by the approach of the diffusion-controlled limits with Higuchi's model. The drug release rate increases with the ratio of dissolution/diffusion rate (G) and the ratio of solubility/drug loading (K) but decreases with the shape factor of drug particles. A zero-order release profile is identified for planar drugs before starting the surface depletion layer, and also found for cylindrical and spherical dispersed drugs when K and G are small, i.e. the loaded drug is mainly un-dissolved and the drug release rate is dissolution-controlled. It is also shown that for the case of a small G value, the variation of drug release profile, due to the drug particle geometry, becomes prominent. Detailed comparison with the results of the traditional Higuchi's model indicates that Higuchi's model can be applied only when G is large because of the assumption of an instantaneous dissolution. For K = 1/101-1/2, the present analysis suggests an error of 33-85% for drug release predicted by Higuchi's model for G = 100, 14-44% error for G = 101, while a less than 5% error for G ≧ 103.
Keywords: Higuchi’s model; diffusion; dissolution; drug release; shape.