Pulmonary Bioadhesive Drug Delivery Systems and Their Applications

Mucoadhesive based pulmonary drug delivery is an advanced novel intervention against several pulmonary diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, etc. Mucoadhesive polymers are required to prolong the residence time of the drug to promote drug absorption via mucosa at a controlled rate in order to enhance the therapeutic effect. The drug interacts with the mucus layer and mucin molecules to prolong the residence time. Such a drug delivery system has low enzymatic degradation with improved patient compliance as its formulation depends on the use of a mucoadhesive and biocompatible polymer. Therefore, in this chapter, we have discussed the novel dosage formulations i.e. nanoparticles, liposomes, and microparticles for delivery via inhalation. However, there is an urgent need to study novel bioadhesive formulations with different polymeric materials and to identify many new drug molecules for pulmonary drug delivery.