TRANSDERMAL AND PULMONARY-BASED DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS: BRIDGING NON-INVASIVE THERAPEUTICS WITH PRECISION PHARMACOKINETICS

Transdermal and pulmonary drug delivery systems have become the most popular non-invasive alternative to the conventional parenteral and oral delivery methods, with advantages of controlled systemic absorption of drugs, increased patient compliance, and evasion of first-pass metabolism. The skin and the lungs which have a huge surface area and vascularity are ideal entry points to systemic therapy. Their complexity with the heterogeneous biological barriers which include stratum corneum of transdermal and mucociliary clearance of pulmonary routes, however, require complicated carrier systems and formulation engineering. This chapter is a thorough discussion in the field of transdermal and pulmonary drug delivery approaches related to the physiology, mechanisms, formulation strategies, and technological advances in drug administration.Focus is made on microneedles, iontophoresis, lipid based nanocarriers, dry powder inhalers (DPIs), by nebulizers, and aerosol nanomedicine. Recent developments of bioresponsive delivery, personal inhalation, and intelligent transdermal patches are questioned as well as challenges in regulation and translational research. Such systems have been taken as a display of the coming together of a nanotechnology, materials science, and pharmacokinetics in redefining the frontiers of non-invasive forms of precise therapeutics.