Challenges and obstacles of ocular pharmacokinetics and drug delivery

Arto Urtti1

  • 1Drug Discovery and Development Technology Center, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 5 E, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.

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As individuals age, their body's physiology evolves, affecting drug pharmacokinetics. The most apparent changes occur in the gastrointestinal tract, where an increase in gastric pH, a delay in gastric emptying, and a reduction in gastrointestinal motility are observed. Remarkably, these changes do not substantially modify the absorption of orally administered drugs, particularly those absorbed via passive diffusion.Transdermal drug delivery emerges as a highly viable method for older adults due...
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Drug delivery methods like oral inhalation, nasal sprays, transdermal patches, eye drops, intravitreal injection,  and rectal administration provide localized effects with reduced toxicity.
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Pharmacokinetics is a scientific discipline that focuses on the journey of a drug within the body, encompassing four key stages: absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination. The first stage, absorption, involves the drug's transfer into the bloodstream. Several factors dictate the extent and speed of this process. For example, the liver often metabolizes oral drugs before they reach systemic circulation, leading to only partial absorption. In contrast, intravenous (IV) administration...
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