Transdermal drug delivery system: An overview

Abstract

Transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDS) are the topically applied “patches” designed to deliver a therapeutically effective amount of a drug across a patient’s skin at a controlled rate for the systemic action. TDDS has emerged as a potential novel drug delivery system in the last 30 years. It is intended to improve the therapeutic efficacy and safety, maintain the steady state plasma level of drugs and overcome the significant drawbacks of the conventional oral dosage forms and parenteral preparations. It is ideally suited for the diseases that demand chronic treatment with frequent dosing. This review deals with a brief insight on the introduction, the formulation aspects, the physical and chemical enhancers explored or being explored to enhance the transdermal delivery of drugs across the stratum corneum, the evaluation parameters (physicochemical, in vitro, in vivo studies) and therapeutic applications of TDDS.