Sublingual Drug Delivery System: An Update

Abstract

Abstract

Oral transmucosal delivery, especially sublingual delivery, has progressed far beyond the use of traditional dosage forms with novel approaches emerging continuously. Drug delivery via the oral mucous membrane is considered to be a promising alternative to the oral route, offering a vast number of advantages. Sublingual delivery tends to administer substance via mouth in such a way that the substance is rapidly absorbed via blood vessels under tongue, bypassing the hepatic first‐pass metabolism and providing acceptable bioavailability with better patient compliance. New sublingual technologies address many pharmaceutical and patient needs, ranging from enhanced life‐cycle management to convenient dosing for pediatric, geriatric, and psychiatric patients. This review discusses the physiology of the oral cavity in vivo relating to the performance of transmucosal delivery systems, the physiological challenges as well as the opportunities for sublingual drug delivery. This review also highlights the various sublingual dosage forms, factors affecting the sublingual absorption, advantages, different evaluation parameters and commercially available sublingual dosage forms.

Keywords: Transmucosal delivery, sublingual, acceptable bioavailability

Cite this Article

Chavda Vivek P, Moinuddin Soniwala. Sublingual Drug Delivery System: An Update. Trends in Drug Delivery. 2016; 3(3): 1–19p.