Drug Delivery Systems

Drug delivery systems (DDSs) and their administration routes play a critical role in the efficacy and safety of drugs. There are several physiological routes for drug delivery, including oral administration, injectables, inhalation, transdermal, intranasal, and transdermal delivery. This article focuses on these administration routes, describes their advantages and disadvantages, and elaborates on triggered and targeted DDS. Additionally, this article also describes drug release mechanisms from DDSs.

DDSs are classified based on their physicochemical properties and administration routes. Pulsatile/stimuli systems allow controlled drug release at a specific time or location in response to an external stimulus. In addition, the controlled DDS employs several drug release mechanisms, such as diffusion, swelling, and erosion, to achieve the desired therapeutic effect. Representative applications of DDSs include the treatment of cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

The COVID-19 vaccine is a significant achievement in DDS, showcasing its potential to address global health crises. It utilizes lipid nanoparticles to encapsulate and protect mRNA, enabling targeted delivery to host cells. The mRNA instructs cells to produce the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, triggering an immune response for COVID-19 protection.

In conclusion, DDSs and their administration routes are vital for safe and effective drug development, with recent advances such as pulsatile/stimuli systems showing promise for targeted delivery. The COVID-19 vaccine development demonstrates the potential of DDS in tackling global health issues.