Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is the most widely applicable method
for drug discovery and analysis. This technique provides a highly specific tool for identifying a
drug substance containing impurities and residual solvents and their metabolites in biological
media. It also provides a suitable analytical technique for their absolute quantification. In recent
years, NMR spectroscopy has been increasingly used to monitor the cumulative drug release, drug
dissolution, and diffusion coefficient of drugs from drug delivery systems in vitro and in vivo.
Furthermore, this technique provides a better understanding of the release behaviors of drugs from
drug delivery systems based on diffusion, dissolution, and osmosis mechanisms. Although early
studies have been mainly qualitative in nature, these techniques can offer considerable information
on release processes at the molecular level. Moreover, NMR spectroscopy has been used to detect
structural changes that occur in drug delivery systems during the dissolution process. This review
focuses on an overview of drug delivery systems and NMR spectroscopy and the application of
NMR spectroscopy to drug release behaviors in drug delivery systems.
Keywords: NMR spectroscopy, drug delivery system, drug release, drug dissolution, diffusion coefficient.