Intranasal drug delivery

In recent years the nasal route has received a great deal of attention as a convenient and reliable method for the systemic administration of drugs. Although this route is currently being marketed for the systemic administration of several drugs, it has only recently been studied. This chapter deals with animal techniques to study nasal absorption and the effect of physico-chemical and biopharmaceutical properties of drugs on the rate and extent of absorption. It also discusses factors affecting peptide absorption and methods to improve the nasal bioavailability of peptides. In the last part of the chapter the utility of the nasal route for the delivery of drugs to the brain is discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.