Selected Medicines Used in Iontophoresis

Abstract

Iontophoresis is a non-invasive method of systemic and local drug delivery using an electric field. Iontophoresis enables diffusion of the selected drug via skin, mucosa, enamel, dentin, and other tissues. The amount of delivered therapeutic molecules is about 10–2000 times greater than conventional forms of delivery. Among other fields, this method is used in dentistry, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, and dermatology. According to related literature, the most important drugs studied or administered by iontophoresis are: Local anesthetics, opioids, steroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antibacterial drugs, antifungal drugs, antiviral drugs, anticancer drugs, fluorides, and vitamins. The present review covers current available data regarding the selected medicines used in iontophoresis. Furthermore, indications and conditions of iontophoresis application are reviewed.

Transferosomes as nanocarriers for drugs across the skin: Quality by design from lab to industrial scale

“…In the case of iontophoresis, the increase in permeability is obtained by providing an electric driving force for transport the drug across the SC (Malakar et al, 2012). Small and hydrophilic drugs are the ideal candidates for this technique based on the principle that in a given electric field, cations (positively charged drugs) are repelled by a positive electrode called anode and are directed towards the catode, while anions (negatively charged molecules) follow the anode after being repelled by the negative electrode, catode (Karpinski, 2018). The combination of transferosomes and electroporation can be another viable option for increasing the skin permeation based on the formation of temporarily aqueous pores in cell membranes after the application of high voltage pulses (Ita, 2016).…”

The Digital Pharmacies Era: How 3D Printing Technology Using Fused Deposition Modeling Can Become a Reality

“…However, this could provoke major legal disputes. Other drug delivery technologies already patented and vastly researched on could be rapidly brought back, not because of any drawback of the new technology, but for economic reasons, e.g., microneedles, active drug delivery patches using iontophoresis or sonophoresis [76]. The pharmaceutical industry is known to manage risk by broadening the use of old technologies, instead of accepting novel products.…”

Bio-Functional Textiles: Combining Pharmaceutical Nanocarriers with Fibrous Materials for Innovative Dermatological Therapies

“…The physical transdermal penetration strategies consist of applying external stimuli such as electric current or ultrasound to help the drug to cross the epidermal layer [17,99]. The application of low electric current is defined as iontophoresis [100] while the application of ultrasounds (US) is called sonophoresis [101]. Another physical enhancement technology is the Microneedles (MN) one; this technology employs micrometric size needles to pierce the epidermis and deliver the drug directly in the vascularized layers [102,103].…”