sustained-release

[ suh-steynd-ri-lees ]

adjective

, Chemistry, Pharmacology.

1. (of a drug or fertilizer) capable of gradual release of an active agent over a period of time, allowing for a sustained effect; timed-release; long-acting; prolonged-action; slow-release.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sustained-release¹

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

People looking for energy throughout the day tend to do better with the sustained-release dextroamphetamine tablets, Hanson said, rather than people looking for an immediate effect.

From Seattle Times

Sustained-release technology “further reduces the incidence of addiction,” reads a Mundipharma PowerPoint slide staff said was still in use last year.

From Washington Times

But it wasn’t until the mid-1990s, when pharmaceutical companies introduced new opioid-based products — and, in particular, OxyContin, a sustained-release formulation of a decades-old medication called oxycodone, manufactured by Purdue Pharma in Stamford, Connecticut — that such prescriptions surged and the use of opioids to treat chronic pain became widespread.

From Nature

That’s all the more reason for BWC to stop covering new OxyContin prescriptions effective June 1, when it will switch to a sustained-release version of oxycodone that is less susceptible to addiction.

From Washington Times

Similar worries in India’s north-eastern neighbour, Nepal, meant that 50% of the country’s supply of sustained-release morphine tablets went unused in 2011.

From Economist