Advanced Trans-Epithelial Drug Delivery Devices

Tomasz      Ciach; Aleksandra      Moscicka-Studzinska

Abstract

The presented paper describes the drug delivery devices which can be considered as advanced or potentially “intelligent”. Due to the current development state and the legal problems of implantable drug releasing electronic devices the review is limited to the systems which delivers drugs through the skin or mucosa. The article shows the principle of operation and some construction details of such devices. It also discusses the possible methods of sampling body fluids across the drug delivery barriers to introduce a feedback loop which is necessary to react on the metabolic process in the human body and their malfunctioning. In the near future presented devices will evolve towards the highly sophisticated systems which will monitor our metabolism and deliver necessary drugs and hormones in the precisely calculated doses to regulate our body functions without absorbing our attention.

Keywords: Drug delivery device, transdermal, transmucosal, iontophoresis, artificial glands, mucosal drug delivery system, multidose pulsed drug, physical actuator, kinetic momentum, small keratin husks, lipid lamellae, hydrophilic compounds, electrophoresis-charged molecules, hydrophilic pathways, coaxial electrode ring