Dermal and transdermal drug delivery systems: current and future prospects

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Dermal and Transdermal Drug Delivery

Background:

• Human skin's physicochemical properties limit passive transdermal drug delivery, requiring drugs to be lipophilic with molecular weight under 500 Da.
• These limitations have restricted the development of transdermal and dermal delivery products.
• Passive delivery methods primarily optimize formulations but struggle with molecules exceeding 500 Da.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review next-generation active drug delivery technologies for transdermal and dermal applications.
• To highlight advancements in overcoming skin barrier limitations for a wider range of therapeutic molecules.

Main Methods:

• Review of passive and active transdermal/dermal delivery strategies.
• Categorization of active methods including electrical (iontophoresis, electroporation), mechanical (abrasion, ablation, perforation), and energy-related techniques (ultrasound, needle-free injection).

Main Results:

• Active delivery methods demonstrate superior efficacy for drugs of varying lipophilicity and molecular weights, including proteins, peptides, and oligonucleotides.
• These methods utilize physical or mechanical means to enhance permeation, surpassing limitations of passive approaches for larger molecules.

Conclusions:

• Active transdermal drug delivery technologies offer significant potential for enhanced therapeutic molecule delivery.
• Key considerations for the success of these novel methods include device design, safety, efficacy, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness.