Bisphosphonates: therapeutics potential and recent advances in drug delivery

Bisphosphonates (BPs) are widely used for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. BPs are known as gold standard for osteoporosis (OP) treatment due to their positive results in clinical studies. But some serious side effects are associated with BPs like gastrointestinal adverse effect i.e. esophagitis and ulcer of esophagus. Oral bioavailability (BA) of BPs ranges from 0.6 to 1% due to poor absorption through gastrointestinal tract (GIT).

The main objective of this review is to explore the role of novel drug delivery systems (DDSs) for the delivering of BPs and minimizing the drawbacks associated with them.

The current review is focusing on classification, mechanism of action, and limitations of BPs, and is also dwelling on the use of novel DDSs like nanoparticles, liposomes, topical, transdermal systems, implants, bisphosphonate osteotropic DDS (BP-ODDS), microspheres, and calcium phosphate cements (CPCs) for BPs. This review also gives a critically reviewed compilation of the various in vitro and in vivo studies conducted till date.

On the basis of the exhaustive literature, it has been found that the novel DDS minimizes the side effects associated with BPs and enhances the BA. The advance drug delivery has a greater impact on reducing the undesirable effects and increasing the BA of BPs.