Intranasal drug delivery: reality and prospects

Currently, intranasal administration of drugs is one of the promising directions in medicine. This method has a number of essential advantages, which make it attractive for treatment of various diseases. Superior bioavailability, rapid onset of pharmacological effect, absence of «first-pass effect» are among them. In addition, intranasal route allows to bypass the blood-brain barrier, that opens up new opportunities for the treatment of diseases of the central nervous system. Intranasal drug delivery is considered as an alternative way of delivering therapeutic agents into the central nervous system and systemic blood flow. In the future, it is planned to develop new intranasal vaccines that will contribute to the prevention and treatment of various diseases. Furthermore, new pharmaceutical forms that will facilitate the delivery of drugs to the central nervous system are being developed. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the intranasal route of drug delivery has its limitations, that have to be overcome in order to successfully implement new methods of non-invasive drug delivery. The article considers the features of intranasal drug administration, related problems, advantages and disadvantages.