Pulmonary drug delivery pharmacokinetics

P. Colombo, D. Cocconi, P. Santi, R. Bettini, G. Massimo, P. L. Catellani, C. Terzano, Biopharmaceutical Aspects of Nasal and Pulmonary Drug Delivery , in Pharmacokinetic Optimization in Drug Research Biological, Physicochemical and Computational Strategies , Eds. B. Testa, H. van de Waterbeemd, G. Folkers, R. Guy, Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta, Zurich, 2001, p. 173- 188. 

Pharmacokinetic Considerations in the Design of Pulmonary Drug Delivery Systems for Glucocorticoids... 

Pharmacokinetic and/or Pharmacodynamic Assessment of Pulmonary Drug Delivery Systems... 

A variety of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic approaches can be used in preclinical and Phase I—III development to evaluate pulmonary drug delivery. These include studies that evaluate the pulmonary pharmacokinetics directly in the lung (e.g., direct assay of lung tissue), imaging studies, and traditional pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic approaches. The most important approaches are discussed next. 

The pharmacokinetic/dynamic parameters involved in pulmonary drug delivery of glucocorticoids have been reviewed. Among these, low oral bioavailability, high pulmonary deposition, pronounced clearance, and sustained pulmonary release are the most important parameters to be considered. 

Apart from oral drug delivery, the drug nanoparticles might have a large potential in pulmonary delivery but also in parenteral dosage forms, in particular, the fad that some nanosuspensions may behave like solutions regarding their pharmacokinetics (3) appears to be a very interesting feature. 

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