Leonore C. Witchey-Lakshmanan

Long-acting control of ectoparasites: a review of collar technologies for companion animals

Collar technologies for the prolonged topical control of ectoparasites on companion animals are reviewed, beginning with the first vinyl collars to the most recent developments. Matrix collars, such as the vinyl collar, have been the most commonly used technology, in which the active agent is blended directly into the polymer itself. Reservoir technologies, in which an active agent is dispersed or dissolved in a vehicle which is, in turn, held in a solid or mesh-like casing, are also discussed. Mechanical systems are presented including ultrasonic devices which emit sound waves designed to disrupt the flea life cycle, pumps which topically deliver small quantities of a dissolved active agent, and chambered devices designed to physically entrap the flea inside the collar. The future directions for topical parasite control are considered in closing, reviewing in particular the advent of more potent compounds.

Controlled drug delivery and the companion animal

Publisher Summary Companion animals are those which are considered as pets, primarily dogs, cats, and horses. The companion animal market is different from the food animal market since the factors supporting each are divergent. Companion animals are often considered as part of the family. As a result the market is better able to support the expense of dosage forms, similar to human medicine. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a perspective on controlled release drug delivery systems for companion animals and highlight some of the reasons why controlled release drug delivery systems are developed for companion animals. This chapter also describes relevant issues pertaining to the design and development of controlled release products for various routes/clinical conditions. The two species which are described extensively in this chapter are cats and dogs.