Dermal and transdermal delivery of pharmaceutically relevant macromolecules

Area of Science:

• Dermal and transdermal drug delivery
• Biomedical engineering
• Pharmaceutical sciences

Background:

• The skin's stratum corneum presents a significant barrier to drug delivery, particularly for macromolecules.
• Conventional transdermal delivery is limited to small molecules (≤1kDa) with specific lipophilicity and polarity.
• Macromolecules typically do not penetrate human skin without assistance, limiting therapeutic options.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and evaluate various methods for enhancing dermal and transdermal delivery of macromolecules.
• To discuss physical, chemical, and biological approaches to overcome the skin barrier.
• To assess the potential of these methods for effective therapeutic administration of large molecules.

Main Methods:

• Physical methods: microneedles, microjets, lasers, electroporation, sonophoresis, iontophoresis.
• Chemical methods: penetration enhancers.
• Biological methods: peptides.

Main Results:

• Microneedles create skin micropores for macromolecule delivery.
• Other physical methods like electroporation and sonophoresis show promise.
• Penetration enhancers and biological peptides offer alternative strategies for macromolecule transport.

Conclusions:

• Multiple advanced techniques exist to facilitate macromolecule transdermal delivery.
• These methods hold potential for improving therapeutic efficacy by enabling the delivery of larger drug molecules.
• Further evaluation is needed to optimize and implement these strategies for clinical use.