Articles

Over the recent decades, the interest in nasal delivery as a feasible alternative to oral or parenteral administratio1n for some drugs is increased, because of the high permeability of the nasal epithelium, rapid drug absorption across this membrane and avoidance of hepatic first-pass metabolism. Therefore, it is important to understand the potential and limitations of various nasal drug delivery systems.
The aim of this review article is to outline the advantages and limitations of the nasal route and to investigate factors influencing the permeability of the nasal mucosa to various compounds such as physiological factors, physicochemical characteristics of the substance, and pharmaceutical factors that must be considered during the process of discovery and development of nasal drugs as well as in their incorporation into appropriate nasal pharmaceutical formulations.