Transdermal drug delivery: a review of pharmaceutics, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics.

This article provides a critical literature review on the recent advances in the research and development of rate-controlled transdermal therapeutical systems for systemic medication. The article focuses its discussion on the recent development in the fundamentals, developmental concepts, and biomedical assessment of the transdermal controlled drug administration. The scope of the review consists of the following areas: mechanism of percutaneous absorption; enhancement of skin permeability; in vitro and in vivo evaluations of transdermal permeation kinetics and assessment of in vitro-in vivo relationship; pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of transdermal controlled drug administration and establishment of pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationship; clinical performance of rate-controlled transdermal therapeutic systems; and potential development in rate-controlled transdermal drug delivery.