IONTOPHORESIS: CONTROLLED TRANSDERMAL DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM

Currently there has been an increased interest in using iontophoretic technique for the controlled transdermal drug delivery of medicines, especially in the delivery of proteins & peptides through skin membranes. The delivery of ionic drug molecules and peptide/protein molecules through transdermal delivery to attain a systemic therapeutic effect, chemical or physical methods are needed to improve the rate of penetration of therapeutic drug molecule through the main diffusion barrier present in the skin membrane. In that, the iontophoretic technique is one of the most desirable to enhance the transdermal drug delivery of high molecular weight substances like peptide and proteins using a lower current intensity with a short time period for the desired therapeutic effect. This article is an complete overview of the controlled transdermal drug delivery of ions/proteins/peptides by iontophoresis as well as the principles, laws, mechanisms, factors, design considerations, applications, advantages, limitations of transdermal iontophoretic drug delivery system.