the invention provides a drug delivery vehicle which contains a built - in antidote / inactivator of the drug , in addition to the drug , to prevent the negative consequences of overuse or misuse of the drug . generally , the vehicle works well with drugs which normally are , or can be , prescribed in solid form ( powders , pills , capsules and such ). in a preferred embodiment , the drug vehicle of the invention is ingested orally . almost any drug may be incorporated in the vehicle . most advantageously , the invention is applied to drugs which are considered dangerous , such as drugs that lead to habit formation or endanger life if overused . examples would include opiates , amphetamines , digioxin and such . the delivery vehicle comprises at least two separate volumes and two different membranes , in which at least five components are present . one component ( component 1 ) is a chemical that can increase the ph in a bodily fluid , preferably the stomach . the stomach has an acidic ph , between about ph 1 and ph 3 . a normal dose of the drug delivered within the vehicle of the invention to a subject / patient would deliver the ph changing component 1 , but the amount delivered would not suffice to increase the ph very much , not sufficient to make the bodily fluid reach above ph 3 or ph 4 . however , taking multiple doses of the drug within a short time frame will raise the ph above a critical point , say above ph 3 ; 3 . 1 ; 3 . 2 and so on , preferably at least or above ph 4 . examples of component 1 include an antacid , magnesium oxides , sodium bicarbonate , and sodium acetate . another component ( component 2 ) is a catalyst which enhances the activity of component 5 , the drug &# 39 ; s inactivator . examples include iron sulfates and edta . the third component , component 3 , is the drug . examples would include opiates , amphetamines , benzodiazepines , digioxin and such . component 4 is a coating or formulation which is ph sensitive , i . e . will not dissolve at ph lower than pre - designated ph , e . g . at least ph 3 , ph 4 , or above . some examples include eudragit , ethylcellulose , or other polymers whose stability is ph sensitive . component 5 is the drug &# 39 ; s inactivator . it can be an oxidation agent , or a hydrolysis agent , or an agent that complexes the drug and precipitates the drug out of solution , and so on . some examples include potassium permanganate ( best against opiates ), sodium ( or other salts ) of bismutate or persulfate , and peroxides . tanic acid would be a preferred complex - formation / drug - precipitation agent . of course , the drug and inhibitor are matched for suitability . for example , hydrogen peroxide may not inactivate oxycontin . by contrast , edta or ion sulfates would inactivate oxycontin . certain aspects of the invention are critical . the inactivator resides in a compartment ( seed , or core ) whose coating is the ph sensitive component . the seed or core may comprise other components , for example the catalyst , or the catalyst might reside elsewhere in the vehicle . the ph changing ( increasing ) component is not present within the seed or core . upon the patient &# 39 ; s taking a normal dose , the core / seed is not breached and it is eventually eliminated from the body . however , if enough drug / vehicle is ingested or otherwise internalized , the ph would increase , the ph sensitive formulation or coating ( component 4 ) would be breached and the drug antidote would be released . similarly , if a drug abuser were to try to grind or dissolve a drug residing in the vehicle , the drug and the drug antidote would no longer be separated and the drug would become neutralized . an oxidant - catalyst core is coated with a polymer membrane to protect it from release when administered orally as recommended . the coated core will then be over - coated with the drug and the release - modulating membrane . following oral administration , the drug is released but the oxidant core passes through the gastrointestinal tract without being released . the sequestering membrane protecting the oxidant is designed to breakdown on tampering which includes chewing , crushing , hot water extraction and non - aqueous solvent extraction to allow for the simultaneous release of the oxidant , the catalyst and the drug . other forms of separation of the drug and the oxidant in the same dosage form to reduce abuse will be investigated . the dosage form provides immediate and / or extended - release of the drug while the inactivator ( e . g . potassium permanganate ) remains sequestered within the dosage form . when swallowed whole either as a capsule or as pellets which can be sprinkled on apple sauce , the dosage form will provide immediate or extended release of the drug . however when crushed , chewed or extracted with hot water or other solvents , the inactivator is immediately released which will subsequently inactivate the drug ( e . g . by oxidation ), thus converting it into inactive products . this unique combination of inactivator and active drug is intended to reduce the illicit use of the drugs . in another form , the inactivator is encapsulated in a ph - sensitive membrane such as enteric coating and subsequently blended with the drug and a ph modifying compound such as magnesium oxide or other alkanizing compound . when this dosage form is taken in the correct doses , the drug and the ph - modifier are released for absorption in the stomach while the inactivator is leased in the intestines . the effect of the drug is realized without inactivation since the amount of the inactivator is not enough to increase the gastric ph to levels that will cause the enteric coating to break - down to release the inactivator . but when more than the prescribed dose of the drug is swallowed , the amount of ph - modifier released will increase the gastric ph , causing the breakdown of the enteric coat and catalyzing the degradation of the drug in the stomach . the drug included in the dosage form may be a shorter acting opiate such as hydromorphone or longer acting such as levorphanol . the inactivator may be potassium permanganate , sodium , potassium or ammonium bismuthate , sodium potassium or ammonium persulfate or other strong oxidants . in a preferred embodiment , the drug product is made up of the drug and functional layers as described below : 1 . oxidant ( inactivator ) core 2 . sequestering and / or ph - sensitive membrane 3 . drug layer 4 . drug release modifying membrane ( for extended release formulations ) 5 . ph - modifying and / or catalyst layer ( if needed for minimizing overdose risk ). initially , the inactivator such as potassium or sodium permanganate , sodium bismutate and / or sodium persulfate cores will be layered with a sequestering or ph - sensitive membrane . encapsulated oxidizer spheres / particles of suitable size ( e . g . 0 . 15 - 1 mm ) are prepared with or without binders by spray drying a concentrated solution or suspension of micronized particles of the oxidant using a concentric nozzle spray dryer ( e . g . buchi 390 encapsulator ). a solution or suspension of an appropriate polymer or film forming material suitable for sequestration is used as the encapsulating material . the sequestering or ph - modifying coat composition is such that it will allow the seed coat to break down during chewing , crushing , hot water or other solvent extraction or when an excessive amount of the drug is consumed . for the enteric or sequestering membrane , the oxidant - catalyst core will be coated with a sequestering or ph - sensitive polymeric membrane . this is a critical parameter or attribute of this product . the purpose of the sequestering membrane is to completely block oxidant release for a prolonged period of time to prevent release of the oxidant in the body but release the oxidant immediately upon tampering . in the case of ph - sensitive membrane , the coating will break down in the small or large intestines after the drug is released in the stomach or duodenum . the sequestering or ph - sensitive membrane needs to be water insoluble and have minimal ability to swell throughout the physiological ph range . mechanically , the membrane needs to be strong enough to withstand normal manufacturing processing but brittle enough to be easily cracked when the pellet is tampered with . lipids , waxes , ceramic materials , silicates , polysiloxanes and polymers can be used as sequestrating membrane components . criteria for selection will be melting point between 40 - 70 ° c ., hydrophobicity , film - forming ability , solubility or ability to swell in hot water or organic solvents , and fragility . examples in sequestrating membrane component include polycaprolactone , tristearin , cetyl palmitate , cetyl alcohol and waxes . the plasticizer will be selected from dibutyl sebacate and glyceryl monostearate which are also water - insoluble . talc or other suitable glidant may be included in the components of the sequestrating membrane . the ph - modifier can be selected from antacids such as magnesium oxide , magnesium hydroxide , calcium hydroxide , calcium carbonate , sodium carbonate , sodium bicarbonate and other antacids . the coated oxidizer may be over - coated with the antacid layer or blended with the antacid and compressed into tablets or filled into capsules for administration . the antacid is present in amounts such that when the recommended dose is administered , the gastric ph will not increase to a level that will cause the breakdown of the sequestrating layer to release the oxidizer . however , when administered in excess , the amount of the antacid will be enough to break down the enteric coating , causing the degradation of the drug . an additional benefit of a magnesium - based antacid may be for the management of conditions such as opioid - induced constipation . the compositions herein described may be immediate release or controlled release dosage forms . amount comp % of total inactivator component ( mg ) (%) composition sodium persulfate 75 65 . 2 16 . 2 sodium or potassium 25 21 . 7 5 . 4 permanganate eudragit , silicate , 10 8 . 7 2 . 2 polysiloxanes or appropriate gms and / or other 5 4 . 3 1 . 1 excipients sub - total 115 100 . 0 24 . 8 dosage form total 463 100 . 0 additional layers or film may be applied to improve the stability and / or release of the drug as needed . the final beads / pellets / particles may be used in a suspension , tablet or capsule form for administration . for suspension formulations , an appropriate final coating ( e . g . eugradit e for suspensions in neutral or slightly alkaline vehicle ) may be used to ensure that the components are not released during the shelf - life of the product but released upon ingestion . capsule and tablet formulations may be further coated with polymers / materials to prevent extraction of the drug without the inactivating ingredients . inactivating ingredients , or portions thereof , must be soluble in water and / or alcoholic solutions for the same purpose ( to prevent extraction of the drug without the inactivating ingredients ). other dosage forms or techniques of separation known in the art such as spheronization and drug layering may also be used to improve the stability of the ingredients within the dosage form . the invention described above should be read in conjunction with the accompanying claims and drawings . the description of embodiments and examples enable one to practice various implementations of the invention and they are not intended to limit the invention to the preferred embodiment , but to serve as a particular example of the invention . those skilled in the art will appreciate that they may readily use the conception and specific embodiments disclosed as a basis for modifying or designing other methods and systems for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention . all references , including publications , patent applications , patents , and website content cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and was set forth in its entirety herein . the use of the terms “ a ” and “ an ” and “ the ” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural , unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context . recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range , unless otherwise indicated herein , and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein . the word “ about ,” when accompanying a numerical value , is to be construed as indicating a deviation of up to and inclusive of 10 % from the stated numerical value . the use of any and all examples , or exemplary language (“ e . g .” or “ such as ”) provided herein , is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed . no language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non - claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention .
opiates , amphetamines , barbiturates and other drugs such as benzodiazepines are extensively abused or misused and are frequently the cause of death by overdosing . these drugs are also prone to oxidation and the final degradation products depend on the reactants and the reaction conditions . this invention describes the use of inactivating agents such as permanganates , peroxides , persulfates , bismuthates , periodates or other oxidants in a dosage form as an approach to minimize abuse and overdose . the product is designed such that the inactivating agent is released if there is an attempt to extract the drug from the formulation or in cases of overdose . once released , the inactivating agent quickly degrades the drug and converts it into inactive compounds . since the reactants are incompatible in situations of normal drug usage , they are kept separated within the vehicle of the invention , but released for interaction in case of misuse . a catalyst may be included in the formulation to facilitate the reaction .