Drug Delivery: Principles and Applications

An indispensable tool for those working at the front lines of new drug development Written for busy professionals at the forefront of new drug development, Drug Delivery gets readers quickly up to speed on both the principles and latest applications in the increasingly important field of drug delivery. Recent developments in such areas as combinatorial chemistry, proteomics, and genomics have revolutionized researchers' ability to rapidly identify and synthesize new pharmacological compounds. However, delivery-related properties remain a significant reason for clinical trial failures. Bringing together contributions by leading international experts, Drug Delivery covers the entire field in a systematic but concise way. It begins with an in-depth review of key fundamentals, such as physiochemical and biological barriers; drug delivery pathways; metabolism; drug formulation; pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic issues; and more. The remainder of the book is devoted to the systematic examination-including overviews, timely examples, and extensive references-of a host of specific subjects, including: * Receptor-mediated drug delivery * Prodrug delivery approaches * Oral protein and peptide drug delivery * Gene therapy and gene delivery * Ultrasound-mediated drug delivery * Polycationic peptides and proteins in drug delivery * Pulmonary drug delivery * Antibody-directed drug delivery * Efflux transporters in drug excretion * Intellectual property issues in drug delivery