Colon-specific drug delivery - An overview

Abstract

In recent years, targeting of drug to the colon is used for treating the colon disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, infectious diseases and colon cancer. Most of the conventional drug delivery systems for treating the colon disorders are failing as the drug do not reach the site of action in appropriate concentration. So site specific delivery of drugs to colon is very much desirable for an effective and safe therapy of colon. This article gives an overview on anatomy and physiology of the colon, factors affecting colonic drug delivery, delivery of peptides and proteins and approaches utilised for colon specific delivery of drugs.