Nasal Inserts for Drug Delivery: An Overview

Nasal mucosa, owing to its high vascularity and thin epithelial membrane, has been widely explored for drug administration in the last two decades. Within that period various nasal dosage forms have been researched and developed. Among them, nasal inserts are easily prepared by lyophilization or gelsification, allow easy dosing with a high potential for systemic administration, enable avoidance of hepatic first pass metabolism, and make possible the release of active ingredient in a controlled manner. In this review, the benefits, limitations and absorption mechanisms of the nasal route, as well as findings from nasal insert-related studies are addressed.

Keywords
Nasal drug delivery; Insert; Mucoadhesion; Absorption; Lyophilization; Gelsification