Lalit R et al.

/ Journal of Pharmacy Research 2012,5(2),

Review Article ISSN: 0974-6943

Available online through www.jpronline.info

Transdermal drug delivery system : Review

Lalit R. Samant and Anusha Bhaskar Department of Biochemistry, PRIST University, Thanjavur, India

Received on:10-11-2011; Revised on: 15-12-2011; Accepted on:12-01-2012 ABSTRACT

Drug delivery system (DDS) plays a vital role and has attracted enormous scientist and researchers. DDS is way to deliver the desired drug to the desired organ. Transdermal drug delivery system (TDDS) may enhance the efficacy of the drug along with safety. TDDS is topically administered medicaments in the form of patch. This article will provide overview on the TDDS. Key words: TDDS, Iontophoresis, Transdermal patch, stratum corneum

INTRODUCTION
Transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDS), also known as patches, are dosage forms designed to deliver a therapeutically effective amount of drug across a patients skin. Transdermal delivery provides a leading edge over injectable and oral routes by increasing patient compliance and avoiding first pass metabolism respectively [1]. Improved patient compliance and effectiveness are inextricable aspects of a drug delivery system. For effective TDDS, the drug must be able to penetrate the skin so that drug can easily reach the target site [2]. Due to have an advantage of being non-invasive, this delivery has to fulfil some parameters such as high potency, better permeability through skin and non-irritation for better compliance [3]. Advantages of TDSS Transdermal delivery route is convenient and safe and hence it is one of the preferred method to deliver drugs across the skin to get the systemic effects which are given below [2,4, 5]. 1. Avoidance of first-pass metabolism of drugs; 2. Reduced plasma concentration levels with decreased side effects; 3. Reduction of fluctuations in plasma levels; 4. Utilization of drug candidates with short half-life and low therapeutic index; 5 Reduction of dosing frequency and enhancement of patient compliance; 6. Improving physiological and pharmacological response; 7. Avoiding the fluctuation in drug level; 8. Inter and intra patient variations; 9. Maintain plasma concentration of potent drugs; 10. Termination of therapy is easy at any point of time; 11. Ability to deliver drug more selectively to a specific site; 12. Provide suitability for self-administration; 13. Enhance therapeutic efficacy 14. Drugs that are highly melting can be given by this route due to their low solubility both in water and fat Route of Permeation of Skin Drug molecules in contact with the skin surface can penetrate by three potential pathways: through the sweat ducts, the hair follicles and sebaceous glands or directly across the stratum corneum. The relative importance of the shunt or appendageal route versus transport across the stratum corneum has been debated by scientists over the years [6,7,8] and is further complicated by the lack of a suitable experimental model to permit separation of the three pathways. Several molecules are able to penetrate through skin via intercellular micro route and therefore many enhancing techniques aim to disrupt or bypass its molecular architecture [9].Their are two major routes of penetration Micro and Macro routes[10] Limitations of TDSS: 1. Heavy drugs molecules (>500 Da) usually difficult to penetrate the stratum cornea; 2. Drugs with very low or high partition coefficient fail to reach blood circulation; 3. Limited skin permeability; 4. Significant lag time; 5. Skin irritation and allergic response [11,12,13] New Approaches in TDDS 1.Iontophoresis It involves application of current (few mill-amperes) to the drug reservoir with same charged electrode. There is possibility of increasing the stratum corneum permeability in the presence of an electric current. Pilocarpin delivery can be taken as an example to induce sweat in the diagnostic of cystic fibrosis and Iontophoretic delivery of idocaine is considered as rapid approach for anaesthesia [14,15]. 2.Reverse Iontophoresis Symmetrical nature of iontophoresis (that transports ions across the skin in both directions of the membrane) has led to its application as a non-invasive method of extracting endogenous substances known as REVERSE IONTOPHORESIS (RI). It is considered as potential tool for therapeutic monitoring. Also suggested for non-invasive monitoring of Phenylketonuria by Food and Drug Administration in 2001 [16,17,18]. 3. Photomechanical Waves Photomechanical waves significantly led to the stratum cornea highly permeable to drug substance through a possible permeabilisation mechanism due to development of transient channels. 4.Electroporation The electrical pulses are considered to form small pores in the stratum cornea, through which transportation of drug occurs. For the sake of safe and painless administration, the electrical pulses introduced by closely spaced electrodes to reserved the electric field within the stratum cornea. [19,20, 21, 22]. Other techniques 1. Transdermal Patch A transdermal patch or skin patch is a medicated adhesive patch that is placed on the skin to deliver a specific dose of medication through the skin and into the bloodstream. Often, this promotes healing to an injured

*Corresponding author.
Lalit R. Samant Department of Biochemistry, PRIST University, Thanjavur India

Journal of Pharmacy Research Vol.5 Issue 2.February 2012

Lalit R et al. / Journal of Pharmacy Research 2012,5(2),

area of the body. The adhesive serves two functions: It is glue in nature that keeps the patch adhered to the skin, and it acts as the suspension that holds the drug. The problems associated with this is the concentration of the drug within the adhesive directly affects the stickiness of the adhesive so if the large quantities of drug is to be administered, either the size of the patch have to be increased or the patch needs to be reapplied again and again. Several pharmaceuticals usually combined with substances, like alcohol, within the patch to improve their penetration via skin in order to improve absorption [23, 24] There are four main designs of transdermal patches viz ., Single layer adhesive, Multilayer Adhesive, Matrix and Reservoir [25,26] 2Transfersomes This device penetrates the skin barrier along the skin moisture gradient. Transfersome carriers can create a drug depot in the systemic circulation that is having a high concentration of drug. Transfersomes contain a component that destabilizes the lipid bilayers and thus leading to the deformable vesicles. 3 Medicated Tattoos Med-Tats is a modification of temporary tattoo which contains an active drug substance for transdermal delivery. This technique is useful in the administration of drug in those children who are not able to take traditional dosage forms. There is no predetermined duration of therapy for Med Tats; instead, the manufacturer provides a color chart that can be compared to the color of the patients tattoo to determine when the tattoo should be removed. This visual comparison, which relies on the dyes incorporated into the patch, introduces a significant amount of interpatient variability. 4. Crystal Reservoir Technology The way of releasing a medicament effectively is based on the oversaturation of an adhesive polymer with medication, thus propel the drug from reservoir by a partial crystallization of the drug. The presence of both molecular solute and solid crystal Transdermal drug absorption markedly alters drug kinetics and depends on a several parameters which includes Medicament application site, Thickness and integrity of the stratum cornea epidermises, Size of the molecule that is to be administered, Permeability of the membrane for the transdermal drug delivery, Hydration state of skin, pH of the drug, drug metabolism by skin flora, lipid solubility and drug depot in skin. The toxic effect of the drug and problem in limiting drug uptake are major considerable potential for transdermal delivery systems, especially in children because skin thickness and blood flow in the skin usually vary with age. The increased blood supply in the skin along with thinner skin has significant effects on the pharmacokinetics of transdermal delivery for children. In some situations this may be an advantageous, while in others systemic toxicity may occur. This was observed after using scopolamine patches that are used to prevent motion sickness, a eutectic mixture of local aesthetics (EMLA) cream used to minimize the pain, corticosteroid cream applied for its local effect on skin maladies. Episodes of systemic toxic effects, including some fatalities in children, have been documented with each of these, often secondary to accidental absorption through mucous membranes [27] 5. Drugs used in the Transdermal Patch (1) Nicotine-used to quit tobacco smoking (2) Fentanyl- used as analgesic for severe pain (3) Estrogen- menopause and osteoporosis (4) Nitroglycerinangina (5) clonidine- transdermal patch for hypertension treatment . Recent trials have been developed the use of hormonal contraceptives, antidepressants and even pain killers and stimulants for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder by transdermal route. [28,29,30]. CONCLUSION It is very difficult for the drug molecule to reach a particular organ in body. A huge amount of work related to this has been carried out yet there are possibilities for improvement. TDDS is very helpful to the patients suffering from the dreadful diseases, where the localisation of the specific target becomes difficult during therapy. The application of TDDS has increased because of high end technology and devices. REFERENCES
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Source of support: Nil, Conflict of interest: None Declared

Journal of Pharmacy Research Vol.5 Issue 2.February 2012