Chitosan-based transdermal drug delivery systems to overcome skin barrier functions

Transdermal drug delivery system has been developed or being developed to vanquish the downsides associated with conventional strategies as it avoids first pass hepatic metabolism, improved patient compliances, easy termination of therapy, possibility of self-administration etc. The main challenge in designing transdermal patch is to overcome the low permeability of skin. Several strategies have been developed to overcome the barrier properties and to enhance the transportation of drug molecules across the skin. In the last decades numerous transdermal patches fabricated from polysaccharides have been reported. There has been a growing interest in using chitosan in transdermal formulations thanks to their biocompatibility, non-toxicity, film forming ability, non- skin irritancy etc. This article highlights the application of chitosan in the development of transdermal drug delivery systems such as microneedles, films etc. Keywords: Transdermal drug delivery, first pass hepatic metabolism, low permeability, microneedles