Nasal formulations for drug administration and characterization of nasal preparations in drug delivery

Abstract

This special report gives an insight in the rationale of utilizing the nasal cavity for drug administration and the formulation as well as characterization of nasal preparations. As the nose is an easy-to-access, noninvasive and versatile location for absorption, this route of delivery will play an increasingly important role in future drug product development both for new and repurposed drugs. The nose can be utilized for local and systemic delivery including drug delivery to the central nervous system and the immune system. Typical formulation strategies and future developments are reviewed, which nowadays mostly comprise liquid formulations. Although they are straight forward to develop, a number of aspects from choice of solvent, osmolarity, pH, viscosity and more need to be considered, which determine formulation characteristics, not at least nasal deposition. Nasal powders offer higher stability and, along with more sophisticated nasal devices, may play a major role in the future.