One of the most common ways to take medicine is by swallowing a pill. However, young children and people with a variety of health conditions, from Parkinson's disease to throat cancer, may have difficulty swallowing tablets and capsules. Injections of other drugs, such as insulin, are also required, which can be painful and can also cause phobias. To overcome these problems, researchers are developing new ways to administer drugs that are easier, more convenient, more effective faster, and have fewer side effects than traditional methods.
Two newer technologies, buccal films and buccal patches, deliver medication through the inner lining of the cheek. The main difference between the two is that films dissolve and disappear, while patches stick and must be removed.
One of the benefits of this film is that it doesn't require water, so you can take it with you anytime, anywhere. The advantage of patches is that they are easy to ignore once applied. Sabine Zneritz, a chemistry professor at the University of Lille in France, said the new type of buccal patch being developed is „very thin.“ „You don't even feel it.“
Buccal films for some medications are currently available. subboxonea sublingual film containing two drugs, buprenorphine and naloxone, used to treat opioid dependence by reducing withdrawal symptoms.
However, cheek patches are not yet commercially available. These are being studied for drug delivery to treat conditions such as: high blood pressure to insomnia. Researchers like Szunerits are also working on developing innovative types of buccal patches, including ones that release drugs only when triggered.
Some medications, such as insulin, must be taken multiple times a day. Instead of having a buccal patch that constantly administers the drug, a trigger can be used to cause the patch to release the drug when needed.
In the case of the insulin buccal patch of Szunertis, its prototype is described in the following literature: study From February, light is the trigger. The idea is that a person would wear this patch throughout the day, and when they need to administer insulin, they could stick a lollipop-like device containing a laser to release the drug into their mouth. However, the device has so far only been tested on pigs and has a long way to go before it is generally available.
Another thing that makes buccal film especially great is treating mouth infections. A team of Egyptian researchers has discovered that an oral film that delivers propolis, a resinous mixture made by bees, is effective in treating recurrent mouth ulcers.in small places study A study of 24 participants found that the film began to reduce the size of ulcers from the second to third day of treatment, and by day 10, the ulcers disappeared.
Interestingly, even the drug-free film acted as a barrier measure and helped provide pain relief, rather than just a placebo. The ulcer is painful to the touch, but by placing a film over it, food or teeth can rub off on the ulcer. „This film acts like a barrier, so it provides pain relief even when it does not contain active ingredients,“ said Mona, associate professor of pharmacy and pharmaceutical technology at British University in Egypt and co-author of the study.・Mr. Arafa said. . Importantly, the analgesic effect of the medicated film lasted longer than that of the placebo.
C. Michael White, professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, said buccal films or patches have several advantages over swallowing a pill.
When taking tablets or capsules, the drug must pass through the intestines and liver before it begins circulating throughout the body, White explained. These organs partially break down the drug, losing some, or in some cases almost all, of its potency. Also, it takes time for the drug to penetrate, which may delay the time it takes to take effect.
These new drug delivery methods bypass the gastrointestinal tract and liver. The medicine is absorbed under the tongue or through the inside of the cheek. This allows for faster effects while avoiding gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea and diarrhea caused by the drug passing through the stomach and intestines. These may be particularly useful in treating people who have nausea or vomiting and are unable to take tablets because they may spit them out.
It also allows for higher drug concentrations in the body, as the drug avoids initial breakdown from the liver.
When you take a pill, the concentration of the drug in your body is initially high, but over time it breaks down and the concentration decreases. White said this initial spike in drug levels is the root of many side effects. However, patches allow the drug to be released into the body over a longer period of time, avoiding increased concentrations and potential side effects.
One of the advantages of buccal delivery is the rapid onset of action. The mucous membrane inside the cheek is thin. On the inside of the cheek, the blood vessels are closer to the surface, White said, so the drug has less time to enter the bloodstream and can start working sooner.
This rapid onset can be particularly advantageous when timing is critical.one of the recent clinical trial used a dissolvable sublingual film to calm agitation in patients with bipolar disorder in 20 minutes with great success, but more, including sublingual administration for erectile dysfunction, by IntelGenx, which develops pharmaceutical films. There are also potential applications that could appeal to people.
Think of movies like Listerine breath strips, says Horst Zerbe, CEO and founder of IntelGenx. „The difference between Listerine and what we're doing is we're putting drugs in the movie,“ he says.
Erectile Dysfunction Film contains tadalafil, an FDA-approved ED treatment. Perhaps the biggest advantage of taking tadalafil as a film rather than a pill is that the drug takes longer to work when taken as a film, Zerbe said. IntelGenx says this will be the first buccal film commercially available for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.
Unlike patches, buccal and sublingual films are now available. They are primarily used to treat pain conditions such as chronic pain, cancer pain and migraine headaches, Zerbe said.
Although not yet available for all drugs, these alternative drug delivery methods are expected to make drugs easier to take as niche markets expand. Not only are they beneficial for children and other people who have difficulty swallowing, but they also help drugs penetrate the body faster, with fewer side effects, and perhaps even the need for multiple insulin injections per day. It might even disappear.