Poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid drug delivery systems through transdermal pathway : an overview

In past few decades, scientists have made tremendous advancement in the field of drug delivery systems (DDS), through transdermal pathway, as the skin represents a ready and large surface area for delivering drugs. Efforts are in progress to design efficient transdermal DDS that support sustained drug release at the targeted area for longer duration in the recommended therapeutic window without producing side-effects. Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is one of the most promising Food and Drug Administration approved synthetic polymers in designing versatile drug delivery carriers for different drug administration routes, including transdermal drug delivery. The present review provides a brief introduction over the transdermal drug delivery and PLGA as a material in context to its role in designing drug delivery vehicles. Attempts are made to compile literatures over PLGA-based drug delivery vehicles, including microneedles, nanoparticles, and nanofibers and their role in transdermal drug delivery of different therapeutic agents. Different nanostructure evaluation techniques with their working principles are briefly explained.RL thanks the funding support from Singapore National Research Foundation under its Translational and Clinical Research Flagship Programme (NMRC/TCR/008-SERI/2013) and administered by the Singapore Ministry of Health’s National Medical Research Council and Co-operative Basic Research Grant from the Singapore National Medical Research Council (Project No. NMRC/CBRG/0048/2013).