Mucoadhesive Drug Delivery Systems

Enhancements to drug delivery using the concept of mucoadhesion have been developed to achieve benefits such as increase the dosage form residence time. This chapter provides an overview of mucoadhesion, mucoadhesive polymers, mucoadhesive drug products, and tests used to measure mucoadhesion. Mucus layer and mucus turnover are the two biological factors affecting prolonged mucoadhesion. To be successful and effective as a mucoadhesive formulation, the polymer of the drug formulation and the mucin of the biological medium should provide adequate interaction, which can vary by factors such as polymer type and nature of the surrounding system. Although the mechanism of mucoadhesion is too complex to be explained by one theory, contact and consolidation are the two steps involved in the process. Novel materials such as thiomers and lectins, have been investigated for their mucoadhesive properties. The chapter shows the advantage of using mucoadhesive dosage forms compared to their regular non-mucoadhesive counterparts.