Recent Advances and Future Perspectives in Novel Drug Delivery Systems

Abstract

The effectiveness of pharmacotherapy depends not only on the drug molecule's pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties, but also on how well it is delivered to the target site at the therapeutic concentrations. Conventional dosage forms often pose significant obstacles, such as insignificant solubility, inadequate absorption, quick systemic elimination, absence of target specificity, and dose-dependent adverse effects. These issues are especially undesirable for drugs that are not effective well in small doses, fails to readily travel through membranes, or are easily metabolized by enzymes. Also, the fact that conventional formulations need patients to consume their medications more often may render them less likely to adhere to their regimens, which can make the therapy less effective. When consuming a drug by ingestion, the liver metabolizes the drug down first, which lowers the amount of the active ingredient in the blood. Novel Drug Delivery Systems (NDDS) were created to solve these significant problems. NDDS make it possible to regulate, maintain, or optimize drug release, which maximizes the benefits of drugs and minimizes their side effects. Nanoparticles, liposomes, microspheres, transdermal patches, implants, dendrimers, and microneedles are among the many of the technologies that have worked very well in clinical practice over the past few decades. These systems are frequently utilized to treat cancer, diabetes, neurology, and to give vaccines. One example is the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines. NDDS constantly encounters problems, like high development costs, complicated regulatory requirements, stability issues, and trouble in scaling up. But NDDS continue to evolve significantly with contribution of nanotechnology, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence. This comprehensive review article addresses about various types of NDDS, how they perform, their benefits and drawbacks, and potential future development in modern medicine.

Keywords: Novel Drug Delivery Systems, liposome, nanoparticles, controlled release, targeted therapy.