Coatings Could Solve Drug Delivery Dilemma

摘要

Professionals in J the pharmaceutical industry have been concerned that growing numbers of drugs suffer from poor solubility. This affects the degree to which a drug's active ingredient can reach its targeted area. Biopharmaceuticals, which account for an increasing percentage of drugs on the market, pose additional challenges. These drugs, produced by means other than extraction from native sources, possess large molecules that can be difficult to deliver to the desired site of action. As a result, they can suffer from inactivation due to conformational instability and degradation. Most biologies are, in fact, administered parenterally (e.g., intravenously) because it is a challenge to deliver them through the stomach to the small intestine, where they can be absorbed and distributed by the bloodstream. Oral delivery of drugs is the preferred route, however, because it is easier and more convenient for patients, as well as more cost-efficient.