title: Mucoadhesive polymeric platforms for controlled drug delivery.
abstract: The process of mucoadhesion involving a polymeric drug delivery platform is a complex one that includes wetting, adsorption and interpenetration of polymer chains amongst various other processes. The success and degree of mucoadhesion bonding is influenced by various polymer-based properties such as the degree of cross-linking, chain length and the presence of various functional groupings. The attractiveness of mucosal-targeted controlled drug delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), has led formulation scientists to engineer numerous polymeric systems for such tasks. Formulation scientists have at their disposal a range of in vitro and in vivo mucoadhesion testing setups in order to select candidate adhesive drug delivery platforms. As such, mucoadhesive systems have found wide use throughout many mucosal covered organelles for API delivery for local or systemic effect. Evolution of such mucoadhesive formulations has transgressed from first-generation charged hydrophilic polymer networks to more specific second-generation systems based on lectin, thiol and various other adhesive functional groups.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, Ireland. g.andrews@qub.ac.uk
authors.forename: Gavin P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.forename: Thomas P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Laverty
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000268:Adhesiveness; D000818:Animals; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D015388:Organelles / Q000378:metabolism; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D004337:Drug Carriers; D011108:Polymers