Pulmonary drug delivery advantages

Outline the advantages and disadvantages of pulmonary drug delivery... 

Parenteral administration is the primary route of testing delivery for nucleic acid therapeutics irrespective of whether systemic or local effects are desired. However, to some extent, pulmonary and oral routes are also investigated as potential routes for local targeting to treat cystic fibrosis or colonic tissue (171-173). For nonparenteral delivery, the use of pharmaceutical excipients in the formulation is critical. In addition, the production costs of nucleic acid therapeutic-containing drug delivery systems should be minimized. Even for intravenously or subcutaneously injected nucleic acid-based therapeutics, the use of protective carriers is most likely necessary, and advantageous as compared to injection of the naked RNA or DNA. Carriers can be divided into viral or... 

SLM combines the advantages of different drug delivery systems such as polymeric microparticles, fat emulsions, and liposome. In this respect, they have been successfully proposed for the delivery of a variety of drugs including antibiotics, anti-inflammatory compounds, vaccines, and adjuvant. Among the hpids, phospholipids, triacyl glycerols, waxes, fatty acids, or their mixtures can be used. SLM can be administered by subcutaneous, oral, intramuscular, topical, or pulmonary ways. 

Selection of the appropriate route of administration and delivery device is critical for the commercial success of a drug product. Although injections are the most efficient delivery method for proteins, they are not always the most suitable from the patient s perspective. Few routes of administration (IV, IM, SC, pulmonary, and topical for local delivery) have been successful to date with protein therapeutics because of the size and complexity of the protein structure. Consideration of the bioavailability via a given route must be made when determining the dose required. Use of a delivery device such as an implantable pump, needle-free injector, or dry-powder inhaler may yield a product with a commercial advantage over a competitor s product. 

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