PENETRATION ENHANCEMENT FOR POLYPEPTIDES THROUGH EPITHELIA .D. ROUTES OF DELIVERY - CASE-STUDIES .6. TRANSDERMAL DELIVERY OF PEPTIDES AND PROTEINS

Transdermal drug delivery has attracted considerable attention in recent years and the potential advantages of this mode of administration have been well documented [1]. The transdermal delivery of peptides and small proteins is of particular interest, since percutaneous administration overcomes many of the problems associated with conventional means of administering these potent therapeutic agents. The major obstacles to the passive permeation of peptidic agents are their hydrophilicity and size; however, therapeutically significant dosage, levels have been achieved in vivo using either electrical or chemical enhancement.