Overcoming Skin Barrier Limitations in Antihypertensive Therapy: Emerging Innovations in Transdermal Patch Design

Hypertension continues to be a major global health issue that requires lifelong pharmacological therapy. Nevertheless, conventional oral antihypertensives have some limitations, including first-pass metabolism, variable plasma drug concentrations, and noncompliance. Compared to these types of products, transdermal drug delivery systems offer specific advantages , including the ability to control the release of a drug, obtain consistent levels of drug therapy, and improve patient compliance. Unfortunately, transdermal drug delivery is compromised by the barrier characteristics of the stratum corneum, which results in the need for innovative methods to increase the permeability of the skin. This review utilized a meta-analysis with published peer-reviewed articles, scientific literature, and pharmaceutical databases that reported recent advances in transdermal antihypertensive therapies. Four primary areas of focus include chemical and physical methods to enhance permeation, delivery systems using nanocarriers, lipid-based formulations, and polymer-based engineering used in the design of transdermal patches. The four methods were analyzed for their mechanisms of action, their effectiveness, and ability to overcome stratum corneum barrier properties. Chemical enhancers or physical methods of enhancing absorption disrupt the skin barrier for only a limited time, while use of a nano-carrier system and lipid systems will improve drug solubility/pentration/release and provide a much longer-lasting means than previous systems. Modifications to polymers used for the formulation of pharmaceutical will have an additional factor to help control the delivery of drugs as well as to improve the overall stability of the drug delivery system. When using the principles of diffusion to help guide the development of formulations, overall efficiency and predictability can be maximized. It was concluded that there are remaining gaps in terms of safety, stability and scalability of the development of transdermal methods of administering antihypertensive medications. Significant advances in technology will continue to provide opportunities for advances in transdermal medication delivery and the ultimate treatment of high blood pressure. Continued advances in technology used for transdermal medication delivery can only be achieved with a multidisciplinary approach of combining innovative materials and drug transport principles to develop future products.