Category: Drug delivery

By bypassing the digestive system entirely, a **therapeutic parenteral drug** often achieves a much more rapid and predictable effect than oral medications. This method of drug delivery, which includes injections and infusions, is essential for patients who cannot swallow or require immediate, high bioavailability medication.

Oxytocin, the hormone best known for its roles in childbirth and social bonding, is a peptide that is almost entirely destroyed by the body's digestive system. This critical fact explains why standard oral administration, such as swallowing a pill, is an ineffective method for delivering this medication.

While hydrogels are celebrated for their biocompatibility and versatility, potential risks remain a key consideration in pharmacology. Specifically, some synthetic types are associated with toxic breakdown products, raising the important question: **can hydrogels be harmful** in medical applications?.

The concept of targeted drug delivery traces back to Paul Ehrlich's 'magic bullet' idea, a century-old vision of selectively targeting a pathogen without harming the host. Today, the realization of this vision is manifested in two primary targeted drug delivery systems: passive and active targeting. These systems utilize nanoscale carriers to concentrate therapeutic agents at a specific site in the body, optimizing drug effectiveness while drastically reducing side effects on healthy tissue.

Despite their liquid form, drops are a prime example of topical medication, a classification based on the localized application to a specific body surface. A 2015 review revealed over 56,000 pediatric calls to poison control centers involving topical preparations, including drops, highlighting their widespread use.

Passive diffusion is the major process of absorption for more than 90% of drugs, driven by the simple movement of molecules across cell membranes. This energy-independent mechanism plays a critical role in determining how medications are taken up from their administration site into the bloodstream.

Intravenously administered medications achieve 100% bioavailability, entering the bloodstream instantly and bypassing absorption hurdles. Understanding which form of medication is absorbed quicker is crucial in pharmacology for achieving rapid therapeutic effects and tailoring drug delivery to patient needs.

Intravenous administration is defined as having 100% bioavailability because the drug is delivered directly into the bloodstream. This makes it the standard against which all other routes are measured when understanding **Which form of drug has the highest bioavailability?** and overall drug effectiveness.

Current estimates show that oral formulations make up about 90% of the global market share for all pharmaceutical products intended for human use [1.5.1]. So, what is the most common drug delivery system? It is unquestionably the oral route, favored for its convenience and patient preference [1.5.1, 1.3.2].

Historically, many believed that drugs applied to the skin had minimal systemic absorption, but modern pharmacology has revealed a more complex truth. The question, "Are topical drugs systemic?" is crucial for understanding the potential for both therapeutic effects and adverse reactions throughout the body.