Chapter 8 - Nanodrug delivery systems for transdermal drug delivery

Abstract

An innovative drug delivery strategy that complements the limitations of conventional drug delivery systems is represented by transdermal drug delivery, which provides a painless drug delivery and reduces the side effects of other administration routes. However, the physiological barriers of the skin undermine the delivery efficiency of conventional patches, limiting drug candidates to small molecules and lipophilic drugs. There are only a few drugs that can be delivered transdermally at a viable rate because the stratum corneum acts as a barrier that limits penetration of drugs through the skin and only few noninvasive methods have been described to significantly enhance the penetration. To increase the range of drugs available for transdermal delivery, the use of nanocarriers represents an alternative for delivering lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs throughout the stratum corneum with the possibility of achieving both a local and systemic effect, required for the treatment of different diseases. A wide range of nanocarriers, with different structures and chemical composition (nanoparticles, nanoemulsions, liposomes, aquasomes, transferosomes, ethosomes, noisomes, catezomes, pharmacosomes, dendrimers, chemical penetration enhancers but also natural promotors) are investigated for the transdermal delivery of drugs in lower active concentrations, which reduce the potential side effects.