Mucosal routes of drug delivery

What is local drug delivery?

Delivery to the site of action

What is systemic drug delivery?

Delivery via a particular site to another part of the body

What is a diagram to show the difference between local/systemic administration?

E.g., using the eye to facilitate delivery elsewhere or treating a disease of the eye

What are some examples of mucosal routes of drug delivery?

Ear, buccal cavity + sublingual, eye, nose, rectum, vagina and lung 

Why are mucosal routes of drug delivery sometimes favoured?

Offers versatile anatomical and physiological environments, ease or challenge to select a suitable site

What are the characteristics of the nasal mucosa?

Normal septum mucosa estimated at 700-1000um, 160cm² surface area, pH of around 5-6.5 - lysozymes found destroy bacteria at acidic pH to protect the mucosa, 1-1.5 litres a day

What are the characteristics of ocular mucosa?

Vary from place to place - corneal thickness 520um in thickness of 5 layers, conjunctival epithelium was around 32-72um, 2cm² surface area, pH around 7, average tear volume 7ul and 1.2ul per minute 

What is a diagram to show the impact of mucosal thickness and cell types?

Increase in systemic permeability as you go down

What are some examples of oral mucosal drug delivery systems?

Mucoadhesive/super disintegrating tablets, bitherapy tablets, mucoadhesive films/patches/wafers, sublingual, gels, sprays, buccal

What are some nasal drug delivery systems?

Nasal sprays, foams, aerosols, patches, nano-carrier loaded films, in situ gels and hydrogels, nasal drops 

What are some examples of ocular mucosal drug delivery systems?

Drops, gels, solutions, patches, films

What are some examples of vaginal mucosal drug delivery systems?

Pessaries, vaginal rings, vaginal gels, sprays and foams

What are some examples of rectal mucosal drug delivery systems?

Suppositories, rectal capsules, tablets, gels, films, multi-layered patches 

What are some examples of pulmonary mucosal drug delivery systems?

Aerosols, sprays, DPI

What are advantages of mucosal routes of drug delivery in comparison to oral administration?

increased bioavailability, bypasses first pass metabolism and avoids acidic conditions of the stomach