Authors : Mehak Sharma; Lovepreet Kaur; Dr. Sanjiv Duggal

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 4 - April

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/3jymrs9h

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26apr1601

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Abstract : Transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDS) have emerged as an efficient and non-invasive approach for systemic drug administration through the skin. These systems are designed to deliver drugs at a controlled and predetermined rate, thereby maintaining consistent plasma drug concentrations for prolonged periods. Compared to conventional oral and parenteral dosage forms, TDDS offer several advantages such as avoidance of hepatic first-pass metabolism, reduced gastrointestinal side effects, improved bioavailability, decreased dosing frequency, and enhanced patient compliance. Due to these benefits, transdermal drug delivery has gained significant attention in pharmaceutical research and development. Despite their advantages, the development of effective transdermal drug delivery systems is limited by the barrier nature of the skin, particularly the stratum corneum, which restricts the permeation of many drug molecules. Therefore, careful selection of formulation components including drugs, polymers, plasticizers, and penetration enhancers is essential to achieve optimal therapeutic performance. In addition, formulation and process variables must be properly designed and optimized to ensure adequate drug release, skin permeation, mechanical strength, and stability of the transdermal patches .Evaluation of transdermal drug delivery systems plays a crucial role in determining their physicochemical properties, mechanical characteristics, drug content uniformity, in-vitro drug release behavior, skin permeation performance, and stability. These evaluation parameters ensure the quality, safety, and efficacy of the developed systems. Furthermore, optimization techniques such as factorial design, response surface methodology, and other design of experiments approaches are widely employed to systematically study the influence of formulation variables and to identify the most suitable formulation. This review focuses on the evaluation parameters and optimization strategies involved in the development of transdermal drug delivery systems, highlighting recent advancements, challenges, and future perspectives in this field.

Keywords : Transdermal Patches; Penetration Enhancers; Evaluation Parameters; Formulation Optimization; Controlled Drug Release; In-Vitro Drug Release; Mechanical Properties; Stability Studies.

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