Drug delivery, membranes oral administration

Toxicology of the methylated derivatives has not been studied extensively. The LD50 for oral administration of dimethyl (3-cyclodextrin is >300mg/Kg and >200mg/Kg for intravenous administration in mice.65 Methylated derivatives interact with cellular membranes, extracting cholesterol and disrupting the membranes. This has limited interest in the derivatives for intravenous delivery of pharmaceuticals, but there has been some interest in use of methylated derivatives to enhance transdermal administration of drugs.66... 

Scopolamine was the first drug to be marketed as a transdermal delivery system (Transderm-Scop) to alleviate the discomfort of motion sickness. After oral administration, scopolamine has a short duration of action because of a high first-pass effect. In addition, several side-effects are associated with the peak plasma levels obtained. Transderm-Scop is a reservoir system that incorporates two types of release mechanims a rapid, short-term release of drag from the adhesive layer, superimposed on an essentially zero-order input profile metered by the microporous membrane separating the reservoir from the skin surface. The scopolamine patch is able to maintain plasma levels in the therapeutic window for extended periods of time, delivering 0.5 mg over 3 days with few of the side-effects associated with (for example) oral administration. 

Nitroglycerin (NTC) is distinguished by a high membrane penetrability and very low stability. It is the drug of choice in the treatment of angina pectoris attacks. For this purpose, it is administered as a spray, or in sublingual or buccal tablets for transmucosal delivery. The onset of action is between 1 and 3 minutes. Due to a nearly complete presystemic elimination, it is poorly suited for oral administration. Transdermal delivery (nitroglycerin patch) also avoids presystemic elimination. 

In recent years there has been an increased interest in the utility of lipid-based delivery systems to enhance oral bioavailability (4). It is generally known that membrane permeability is directly correlated to a drug s water-lipid partition coefficient however, the systemic availability of highly lipophilic drugs is impeded by their low aqueous solubility. In an effort to improve this solubility-limited bio-availabiliy,formulators have turned to the use of lipid excipients to solubilize the compounds before oral administration. Several formulations are currently on the market, for example, Sandimmun/Neoral (cyclosporin microemulsion), Norvir (ritonavir), and Fortovase (saquinavir)... 

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