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How Can An Intranasal Drug Delivery Process Help Patients?

Nasal administration typically refers to drug absorption across the nasal mucosa rather than through the respiratory tract. It is a method of administration used for local and systemic therapies. Intranasal is promoted as a non-invasive alternative, particularly for drugs extensively metabolized or labile in the GI medium. The nasal-associated lymphoid tissue is responsible for the absorption into the systemic circulation.

The nasal cavity begins with the nostrils, which gather and direct airflow. The region behind them contains the turbinates and nasal epithelium, followed by the nasopharynx, where the septum separates the nasal cavity into two halves ends, and the cavity becomes one. The nasal mucosa is a highly vascularized and easily accessible area with a nonkeratinized epithelium comprised of ciliated cells, mucous glands, and goblet cells that produce and store nasal mucus.

Why nasal drug delivery?

Intranasal drug delivery has grown in popularity in pharmaceutical research and development over the last decade. This blog post summarises information on intranasal administration for local, systemic, and CNS delivery.

Nasal delivery has several advantages over standard systemic delivery systems, including non-invasiveness, a faster onset of action, and, in many cases, fewer side effects due to more targeted delivery.

There are still formulation constraints and toxicological issues to be addressed. In drug development, intranasal drug delivery is an intriguing delivery route for treating neurological disorders.

How has this method developed throughout the years?

For centuries, the nasal regime has been used for therapeutic purposes. Because the respiratory tract is a key point of contact with the environment, it serves as a portal for infectious particles like bacteria and viruses and potential treatments.

Historically, intranasal (IN) administered drugs were primarily used to treat topical symptoms of different seasons of rhinitis or contagious diseases of the respiratory system. The nasal delivery route became more popular as an indirect path to treat systemic symptoms, such as cardiovascular indications, toward the end of the twentieth century.

Until 1991, the possibility of delivering drugs to the central nervous system (CNS) via nasal routes remained unexplored. William Frey II proposed a patent for a nasal drug delivery method to treat neurological disorders in the brain.

The structure of the nasal cavity:

The nose is a functionally and structurally complex organ that houses one of the five main senses. In addition to filtration, humidification, and temperature control, Olfaction is a vital role in the nose, not only for creatures to detect food, predators, and mates but also for humans.

The nose's primary structure is generally comparable between rodents, widely used as laboratory animals, and humans. The nasal cavity is divided into two sections that extend from the nostrils to the nasopharynx. They are divided into the vestibular region, the breathing region, and the olfactory area.

Nose-to-brain delivery:

There has been a surge in interest in nasal delivery, particularly in the emerging field of nose-to-brain delivery (ntb). In contrast to systemic delivery, Ntb delivery offers a promising alternative for delivering therapeutic drugs to the CNS while avoiding the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

Unlike traditional drug delivery methods, ntb delivery represents a non-invasive method of directly accessing the CNS via the olfactory or trigeminal nerves. Each drug formulation favors different transport mechanisms from the nasal cavity to higher brain regions, including extracellular and intracellular channels.

The impact of absorption into the blood flow, lymphatic systems, and cerebrospinal fluids must be regarded during drug formulations.

There are many cases where drug delivery to the targeted region of a patient’s body is very challenging. Therefore, alternate drug delivery can be helpful. The Aptar-provided intranasal drug can reach the intended organ and release the drug for further implications.