IONTOPHORESIS - AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE USE OF CARRIERS IN CUTANEOUS DRUG-DELIVERY

Passive delivery of most compounds across the skin is limited due to t he barrier properties afforded by stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the skin. Iontophoresis is an effective technique for physically f acilitating transport of solutes across the skin for both local and sy stemic effects. It is believed to be a future method of choice for the systemic delivery of protein and peptide drugs which normally can onl y be delivered by parenteral therapy. By suitably varying the applied current, iontophoresis allows controlled preprogrammed delivery of a v ariety of compounds.