Abstract :
The purpose of this work was to evaluate the consequences of the spatial distribution of
components in pharmaceutical matrices type Menger sponge on the drug release kinetic
from this kind of platforms by means of Monte Carlo computer simulation. First, six kinds
of Menger sponges (porous fractal structures) with the same fractal dimension, df ¼ 2:727,
but with different random walk dimension, dw 2 ½2:149; 3:183 , were constructed as models
of drug release device. Later, Monte Carlo simulation was used to describe drug release
from these structures as a diffusion-controlled process. The obtained results show that
drug release from Menger sponges is characterized by an anomalous behavior: there are
important effects of the microstructure anisotropy, and porous structures with the same
fractal dimension but with different topology produce different release profiles. Moreover,
the drug release kinetic from heteromorphic structures depends on the axis used to transport
the material to the external medium. Finally, it was shown that the number of releasing
sites on the matrix surface has a significant impact on drug release behavior and it can
be described quantitatively by the Weibull function.
