Acta Pharm. 69 (2019) 197-215
Review
Transdermal patches:
Design and current approaches to painless drug delivery
OTHMAN A. AL HANBALI, HAJI MUHAMMAD SHOAIB KHAN, MUHAMMAD SARFRAZ, MOSAB
ARAFAT, SHAKEEL IJAZ and ABDUL HAMEED
1 Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006 Australia
2 Dana Pharmaceuticals Factory, Zawata Road, Nablus-West Bank, Palestinian Authority
3 Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of
Pharmacy and Alternative Medicine, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan
4 College of Pharmacy, Al Ain
University of Science and Technology, Al Ain, PO Box 64141, Al Ain, Abu
Dhabi, UAE
5 Faculty of Pharmacy and
Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1Canada
Accepted November 7, 2018
Published online December 28, 2018
Use of transdermal patches can evade many issues associated with oral drug
delivery, such as first-pass hepatic metabolism, enzymatic digestion attack, drug
hydrolysis and degradation in acidic media, drug fluctuations, and
gastrointestinal irritation. This article reviews various transdermal patches
available in the market, types, structural components, polymer role, and the required
assessment tools. Although transdermal patches have medical applications for
smoking cessation, pain relief, osteoporosis, contraception, motion sickness,
angina pectoris, and cardiac disorders, advances in
formulation development are ongoing to make transdermal patches capable of
delivering more challenging drugs. Transdermal patches can be tailored and
developed according to the physicochemical properties of active and inactive
components, and applicability for long-term use. Therefore, a number of
chemical approaches and physical techniques for transdermal patch development
are under investigation.
Keywords: transdermal patch, transdermal drug
delivery, polymer matrix, adhesives, skin formulation