Pulmonary delivery/targeting

Among those systems, liposomes are the most commonly studied systems for pulmonary targeting, and their usefulness for pulmonary delivery is the subject... 

Problems in the therapeutic application of proteins are caused by host contaminants, species specificity, cross-reactivity, immunogemcity, and the difficulty of targeting the right location in the human body. Moreover, the rate at which proteins teach the pla ma compartment depends upon the route of administration intravenous or subcutaneous injection and sometimes pulmonary delivery. 

Pulmonary delivery of drugs is the administration route of choice in respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Different devices are available, including metered-dose inhalers, dry powder inhalers, and nebulizers, and nearly 80% of asthmatic patients worldwide use metered dose inhalers (1). Chlorofluorocarbons have been used as an aerosol propellant in metered-dose inhalers however, they deplete the ozone layer and are being replaced by more environment-friendly propellants, even though the contribution of aerosols of this type to the total global burden of chlorofluorocarbons is less than 0.5%. The first chloro-fluorocarbon-free metered-dose inhaler for asthma treatment was approved by the FDA in 1996 (2) and the European Union has set 2005 as a target date for the withdrawal of all chlorofluorocarbon-based inhalers (1). In the USA, prescriptions for chlorofluorocarbon-free medications rose from 16.4 million in 1996 to 33.8 million in 2000 (2). Most of the chlorofluorocarbon-free medications were steroids for nasal use (27.2 million). However, chlorofluorocarbon-containing medications stiU represented two-thirds of all prescriptions and increased from 63.0 to 67.6 million dispensed (2). 

Kostenbauder HB, Sloneker S. Prodrags for pulmonary drag targeting. In Byron PR, ed. Respiratory Drug Delivery. Boca Raton, FL CRC Press, 1990 91-106. 

Klyaschitsky BA, Owen AJ. Nebulizer-compatible liquid formulations for aerosol pulmonary delivery of hydrophobic drugs glucocorticoids and cyclosporine. J Drug Target 7(2) 79-99, 1999. 

Formulations in nanosuspensions are used in different routes of administrations, such as oral, parenteral, topical, ophthalmic, mucoadhesive, pulmonary, and targeted drug delivery. 

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