A method for obtaining distribution of a therapeutic agent throughout the intestinal tract.

Abstract

Treatment of infections of the lower ilium and colon by the oral administration of drugs has been unsatisfactory, owing to the difficulty of getting the drug to these regions unchanged. Tablets coated with various substances have been used, but with poor results.

In the course of work which we have been doing during the past two years, a method has been developed which permits us to obtain a fairly uniform distribution of a chemical substance throughout the intestinal tract.

Gentian Violet has been used in most of our experiments. Gelatin capsules were filled with a mixture composed of the dye and sodium chloride or a buffer, and then coated with 3 per cent collodion. In our preliminary work we found that Gentian Violet will not dialyze through such a membrane, so a minute hole was made in one end of the capsule with a No. 12 cambric needle. The sodium chloride and buffer mixtures were used to raise the osmotic pressure and to neutralize any acids or alkalies which might be present. Following the entrance of fluid into the capsule the gelatin dissolves, leaving the thin collodion layer which collapses from the pressure of the intestinal contents. This aids in causing the expulsion of the dye. Capsules recovered from the feces are intact and usually empty.

When capsules prepared in this manner are administered to animals or human beings, the feces are uniformly colored with the Gentian Violet. We have had two autopsies on individuals who had been receiving the capsules, and in both instances the contents of the gastro-intestinal tract from the mouth to the anus were stained a deep violet. The mucosa throughout was also stained.