In-situ gel for nasal drug delivery

Oral drug delivery is the most desirable, preferred and convenient route for the administration of a drug, whenever systemic effects are intended, However, low oral bioavailability of some actives due to extensive hepatic metabolism and gastrointestinal degradation has prompted the search for more effective routes for their systemic delivery. Transmucosal routes of drug delivery (the mucosal linings of the nasal, rectal, vaginal and buccal cavity), parenteral route and transdermal route offer distinct advantages over peroral administration. These include possible bypass of first-pass effect, avoidance of pre-systemic elimination in gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and hence small dose of a particular drug is required. Reduction in dose will diminish the side effects and ultimately reduce the treatment cost. Intranasal drug delivery can be visualized as the promising route for administration of drugs as it has the potential to overcome some major limitations associated with other listed routes. It is an attractive approach for the systemic delivery of drugs because concentration time profile of drugs achieved after nasal administration is often similar to that obtained after intravenous administration, with resultant rapid onset of pharmacological activity. In addition, intranasal delivery provides a convenient route for the delivery of drugs to central nervous system (CNS) as well as for the products with local activity. Intranasal administration offers several practical advantages from the patient’s point of view (rapid onset of action, non invasiveness, essentially painless, ease of delivery, favorable tolerability profile, improved patient compliance, ease of convenience, self-medication) and pharmaceutical industry viewpoint (no need of sterilization of nasal preparations).