Percutaneous transport of psychotropic agents

Treatment rates for mental and substance abuse disorders are low, particularly in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), where treatment gaps of more than 90% have been documented [1]. Psychiatric disorders are particularly debilitating. One of the ways of improving pharmacotherapy of patients suffering from schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder and other psychiatric conditions is through the use of transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDS). The advantages of TDDS include avoidance of first-pass effect, the possibility of providing sustained release and improving patient compliance. There are several techniques available for facilitating the percutaneous transport of medications across the skin. These include prodrugs, chemical penetration enhancers, transfersomes and proniosomes. This review discusses advances made in the transdermal delivery of psychotropic medications.

Actions of penetration enhancers within the intercellular lipid domain (reproduced with permission from reference [53]).178