Re view Article CURRENT STATUS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS OF NEW DRUG DELIVERY TECHNOLOGIES

New drug delivery systems based products have significantly increased in the past few years, and this growth is expected to c ontinue in the near future. Today a large nu mber of companies are busy developing protein - and peptide - based drugs. Large molecules that degrade rapidly in the blood stream so these biopharmaceuticals (proteins, peptides, carbohydrates, oligo - nucleotides, and nucleic acids in the form of DNA) presen t drug delivery challenges. Moreover, they have a limited ability to cross cell membranes and generally cannot be delivered orally. Such molecules will be much more difficult to deliver via conventional routes, and inje ctions may be the only means of deliv ery (at least as of today). This review is an update on some of the existing drug delivery technologies for oral controlled - release, delivery of large molecules, liposomes, taste masking, fast dispersing dosage forms, and technology for insoluble drugs, na sal, pulmonary, vaginal, and rectal routes.