Abstract
Routes of drug administration and the corresponding physicochemical characteristics of a given route play significant roles in therapeutic efficacy and short term/long term biological effects. Each delivery method has favorable aspects and limitations, each requiring a specific delivery vehicles design. Among various routes, oral delivery has been recognized as the most attractive method, mainly due to its potential for solid formulations with long shelf life, sustained delivery, ease of administration and intensified immune response. At the same time, a few challenges exist in oral delivery, which have been the main research focus in the field in the past few years. The present work concisely reviews different administration routes as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each method, highlighting why oral delivery is currently the most promising approach. Subsequently, the present work discusses the main obstacles for oral systems and explains the most recent solutions proposed to deal with each issue.
Highlights
Intravenous (IV), intramuscular (IM), intranasal (IN), intradermal (ID)/transdermal and oral administration are the main drug delivery routes
Oral delivery is considered to be the most promising administration route due to its specific advantages, it faces substantial challenges that need to be addressed before oral systems can be commercially available for the delivery of biopharmaceuticals
Oral carriers deal with various biological barriers to successfully deliver drugs
Summary
Intravenous (IV), intramuscular (IM), intranasal (IN), intradermal (ID)/transdermal and oral administration are the main drug delivery routes. In IV administration, the drug is rapidly injected into blood vessels through needles, and a high concentration of the drug is able to bypass the physiological barriers against drug absorption, providing the highest bioavailability and the fastest effect among all delivery routes. Such a parenteral administration is the preferred route for acute and emergency responses, while non-invasive methods are more suitable for sustained therapy and chronic delivery [2]. Low bioavailability (
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