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My name is Sabine Szunerits.
I'm a professor at the University of Lille,
attached to the Institute of Electronic,
Microelectronic, and Nanotechnology Department.
Today, I'm going to talk about transdermal drug delivery.
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Transdermal drug delivery is hardly old technology.
The concept that certain drugs can cross the skin might be tracked back to Ibn Sina,
a Persian physician who proposed that dermally applied drugs can have a local effect,
but can also affect tissue immediately beneath the skin, as well as more remote areas.
It was observed that next to the primary role of the skin
serving as an efficient barrier against the invasion of organisms by viruses,
bacteria, dust, toxic chemicals,
as well as UV radiation,
some molecules can penetrate more deeply into the skin structure.
Whereas, dermatologically, topical formulations,
such as foam, creams, and gels, target skin diseases,
topical transdermal delivery systems are designed
to treat systemic medical conditions or localized joint or muscle conditions.
Using the skin as the route of drug delivery,
transdermal drug delivery systems are, thus, defined as systems that utilize the skin
as a site for continuous drug administration into the systemic circulation.
Transdermal drug delivery is part of the family
of drug delivery approaches, as exemplified here for insulin,
with oral, subcutaneous, inhaling,
nasal, and buccal approaches,
to mention some, are being proposed.
Transdermal drug delivery systems are mainly patch-based.
Transdermal patches are, thus, defined as medical adhesives placed on the skin
to deliver a dose of medication through the skin into the bloodstream.
