Intraoral medical devices for sustained drug delivery

Abstract

Objectives The oral cavity constitutes an attractive organ for the local and systemic application of drug substances. Oromucosal tablets, gels, or sprays are examples of the formulations applied. Due to the elution through the saliva, the residence time of the formulation at the application site is relatively short. Medical devices placed in the oral cavity, with a reservoir for an active substance, play an important role in solving this problem. Materials and methods In this review, we discuss the devices described in the literature that are designed to be used in the oral cavity, highlighting the advantages, disadvantages, and clinical applications of each of them. Results Among the intraoral medical devices, special types are personalized 3D-printed devices, iontophoretic devices, and microneedle patches. Conclusion We anticipate that with the development of 3D printing and new polymers, the technology of flexible and comfortable devices for prolonged drug delivery in the oral cavity will develop intensively. Clinical relevance The presented review is therefore a useful summary of the current technological state, when in fact none of the existing devices has been widely accepted clinically.

Oromucosal Administration of Oxytocin: The Development of ‘Oxipops’

“…Future developments in technology for the intraoral delivery of drugs may additionally provide alternatives to medicated lollipops. For example, advances in pharmaceutical technology and polymer science are increasingly allowing the manufacture of new types of intraoral administration using sprays, films, tablets, wafers, chewing gums, buccal patches, and bioadhesive tablets to deliver a wide variety of both non-peptide and peptide drugs (see [ 23 , 62 ]). For example, in terms of the oral delivery of peptides, an aerosol droplet application for an insulin delivery system based on a colloidal liquid formulation has recently been developed (Oralin ® , Generex Biotechnology Corp., Toronto, ON, Canada) which utilizes a mixture of surfactants as stabilizers and permeation enhancers.…”

Challenges in Optimizing Nanoplatforms Used for Local and Systemic Delivery in the Oral Cavity

“…IntelliDrugs are intraoral drugs whose release of the active substance is controlled by electronic devices with tiny digital systems [94,95]. So far, these galantamine-laden systems have been used for dementia patients, offering the possibility of rhythmic therapeutic dose failure, especially for patients with swallowing difficulties [94][95][96].…”

“…IntelliDrugs are intraoral drugs whose release of the active substance is controlled by electronic devices with tiny digital systems [94,95]. So far, these galantamine-laden systems have been used for dementia patients, offering the possibility of rhythmic therapeutic dose failure, especially for patients with swallowing difficulties [94][95][96]. Although IntelliDrugs still require prototype optimization processes, it cannot be denied that they represent innovative systems in intraoral drug administration (Table 1).…”