Fentanyl is a highly potent synthetic piperidine opioid primarily used as an analgesic. It is 20 to 40 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine; its primary clinical utility is in pain management for cancer patients and those recovering from painful surgeries. Fentanyl is also used as a sedative. Depending on the method of delivery, fentanyl can be very fast acting and ingesting a relatively small quantity can cause overdose. Fentanyl works by activating μ-opioid receptors. Fentanyl is sold under the brand names Actiq, Duragesic and Sublimaze, among others.
In pharmacology and toxicology, a route of administration is the way by which a drug, fluid, poison, or other substance is taken into the body.
Sumatriptan, sold under the brand name Imitrex among others, is a medication used to treat migraine headaches and cluster headaches. It is taken orally, intranasally, or by subcutaneous injection. Therapeutic effects generally occur within three hours.
Iontophoresis is a process of transdermal drug delivery by use of a voltage gradient on the skin. Molecules are transported across the stratum corneum by electrophoresis and electroosmosis and the electric field can also increase the permeability of the skin. These phenomena, directly and indirectly, constitute active transport of matter due to an applied electric current. The transport is measured in units of chemical flux, commonly μmol/(cm2×hour). Iontophoresis has experimental, therapeutic and diagnostic applications.
A topical medication is a medication that is applied to a particular place on or in the body. Most often topical medication means application to body surfaces such as the skin or mucous membranes to treat ailments via a large range of classes including creams, foams, gels, lotions, and ointments. Many topical medications are epicutaneous, meaning that they are applied directly to the skin. Topical medications may also be inhalational, such as asthma medications, or applied to the surface of tissues other than the skin, such as eye drops applied to the conjunctiva, or ear drops placed in the ear, or medications applied to the surface of a tooth. The word topical derives from Greek τοπικόςtopikos, "of a place".
Drug delivery refers to approaches, formulations, manufacturing techniques, storage systems, and technologies involved in transporting a pharmaceutical compound to its target site to achieve a desired therapeutic effect. Principles related to drug preparation, route of administration, site-specific targeting, metabolism, and toxicity are used to optimize efficacy and safety, and to improve patient convenience and compliance. Drug delivery is aimed at altering a drug's pharmacokinetics and specificity by formulating it with different excipients, drug carriers, and medical devices. There is additional emphasis on increasing the bioavailability and duration of action of a drug to improve therapeutic outcomes. Some research has also been focused on improving safety for the person administering the medication. For example, several types of microneedle patches have been developed for administering vaccines and other medications to reduce the risk of needlestick injury.
Dosage forms are pharmaceutical drug products in the form in which they are marketed for use, with a specific mixture of active ingredients and inactive components (excipients), in a particular configuration, and apportioned into a particular dose. For example, two products may both be amoxicillin, but one is in 500 mg capsules and another is in 250 mg chewable tablets. The term unit dose can also sometimes encompass non-reusable packaging as well, although the FDA distinguishes that by unit-dose "packaging" or "dispensing". Depending on the context, multi(ple) unit dose can refer to distinct drug products packaged together, or to a single drug product containing multiple drugs and/or doses. The term dosage form can also sometimes refer only to the pharmaceutical formulation of a drug product's constituent drug substance(s) and any blends involved, without considering matters beyond that. Because of the somewhat vague boundaries and unclear overlap of these terms and certain variants and qualifiers within the pharmaceutical industry, caution is often advisable when conversing with someone who may be unfamiliar with another person's use of the term.
Skin absorption is a route by which substances can enter the body through the skin. Along with inhalation, ingestion and injection, dermal absorption is a route of exposure for toxic substances and route of administration for medication. Absorption of substances through the skin depends on a number of factors, the most important of which are concentration, duration of contact, solubility of medication, and physical condition of the skin and part of the body exposed.
Transdermal is a route of administration wherein active ingredients are delivered across the skin for systemic distribution. Examples include transdermal patches used for medicine delivery. The drug is administered in the form of a patch or ointment that delivers the drug into the circulation for systemic effect.
A dermal patch or skin patch is a medicated adhesive patch placed on human skin to deliver a medication into the skin. This is in contrast to a transdermal patch, which delivers the medication through the skin and into the bloodstream.
Intradermal injection is a shallow or superficial injection of a substance into the dermis, which is located between the epidermis and the hypodermis. For certain substances, administration via an ID route can result in a faster systemic uptake compared with subcutaneous injections, leading to a stronger immune response to vaccinations, immunology and novel cancer treatments, and faster drug uptake. Additionally, since administration is closer to the surface of the skin, the body's reaction to substances is more easily visible. However, due to complexity of the procedure compared to subcutaneous injection and intramuscular injection, administration via ID is relatively rare, and is only used for tuberculosis and allergy tests, Monkeypox vaccination, and certain therapies.
A transdermal analgesic or pain relief patch is a medicated adhesive patch used to relieve minor to severe pain. There are many types of analgesic patches based on the main ingredients in the patches. These include patches containing counterirritants, which are used to treat mild to moderate pain, and patches containing opioids such as buprenorphine and fentanyl, used to relieve moderate to severe pain. Fentanyl is often used for opioid-tolerant patients. Nitroglycerin, also known as glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), a medication used for heart failure, high blood pressure, anal fissures, painful periods, and to treat and prevent chest pain, can also be found in patches. Beyond these are patches that contain drugs such as diclofenac and lidocaine and various other drugs. The main purpose of transdermal analgesic patches are to administer drugs in a more viable way to patients, as opposed to oral consumption or intravenous administration such as an injection.
Buccal administration is a topical route of administration by which drugs held or applied in the buccal area diffuse through the oral mucosa and enter directly into the bloodstream. Buccal administration may provide better bioavailability of some drugs and a more rapid onset of action compared to oral administration because the medication does not pass through the digestive system and thereby avoids first pass metabolism. Drug forms for buccal administration include tablets and thin films.
Microneedles or Microneedle patches or Microarray patches are micron-scaled medical devices used to administer vaccines, drugs, and other therapeutic agents. While microneedles were initially explored for transdermal drug delivery applications, their use has been extended for the intraocular, vaginal, transungual, cardiac, vascular, gastrointestinal, and intracochlear delivery of drugs. Microneedles are constructed through various methods, usually involving photolithographic processes or micromolding. These methods involve etching microscopic structure into resin or silicon in order to cast microneedles. Microneedles are made from a variety of material ranging from silicon, titanium, stainless steel, and polymers. Some microneedles are made of a drug to be delivered to the body but are shaped into a needle so they will penetrate the skin. The microneedles range in size, shape, and function but are all used as an alternative to other delivery methods like the conventional hypodermic needle or other injection apparatus.
A smart insulin patch, also known as a glucose-responsive insulin patch, is a type of wearable medical device for diabetes treatment. It is a transdermal patch comprising glucose-sensitive microneedle-array loaded with insulin for blood glucose regulation. Once applied on the skin, the microneedles penetrate under the skin and can sense blood sugar levels. If glucose levels go up, it can promote the release of insulin, which is transported through the regional lymph and capillary vessels for glucose regulation.
Topical drug delivery (TDD) is a route of drug administration that allows the topical formulation to be delivered across the skin upon application, hence producing a localized effect to treat skin disorders like eczema. The formulation of topical drugs can be classified into corticosteroids, antibiotics, antiseptics, and anti-fungal. The mechanism of topical delivery includes the diffusion and metabolism of drugs in the skin. Historically, topical route was the first route of medication used to deliver drugs in humans in ancient Egyptian and Babylonian in 3000 BCE. In these ancient cities, topical medications like ointments and potions were used on the skin. The delivery of topical drugs needs to pass through multiple skin layers and undergo pharmacokinetics, hence factor like dermal diseases minimize the bioavailability of the topical drugs. The wide use of topical drugs leads to the advancement in topical drug delivery. These advancements are used to enhance the delivery of topical medications to the skin by using chemical and physical agents. For chemical agents, carriers like liposomes and nanotechnologies are used to enhance the absorption of topical drugs. On the other hand, physical agents, like micro-needles is other approach for enhancement ofabsorption. Besides using carriers, other factors such as pH, lipophilicity, and drug molecule size govern the effectiveness of topical formulation.
Mark Robert Prausnitz is an American chemical engineer, currently Regents’ Professor and J. Erskine Love, Jr. Chair in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He also serves as adjunct professor of biomedical engineering at Emory University and Adjunct Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. He is known for pioneering microneedle technology for minimally invasive drug and vaccine administration, which has found applications in transdermal, ocular, oral, and sustained release delivery systems.
A caffeine patch is a type of a transdermal patch designed to deliver caffeine to the body through the skin. The concept is similar to that of a nicotine patch.
An invasome are a type of artificial vesicle nanocarrier that transport substances through the skin, the most superficial biological barrier. Vesicles are small particles surrounded by a lipid layer that can carry substances into and out of the cell. Artificial vesicles can be engineered to deliver drugs within the cell, with specific applications within transdermal drug delivery. However, the skin proves to be a barrier to effective penetration and delivery of drug therapies. Thus, invasomes are a new generation of vesicle with added structural components to assist with skin penetration.
Microneedles (MNs) are medical instruments for the procedure of microneedling that are most commonly used in drug delivery, disease diagnosis, and collagen induction therapy. They are known for being minimally invasive and precise. MNs consist of arrays of micro-sized needles ranging from 25μm-2000μm. The concept of microneedling was first established in the 1970s, but its popularity began to rise as they have been found to be effective in drug delivery and possess cosmetic benefits.
