ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on an updated overview of the use of nanocomplexes in the pharmaceutical field, specifically in the area of topical and transdermal drugs. Topical drug delivery has been shown to be a most attractive alternative to the conventional drug delivery methods of oral/injection administration. As well as non-invasiveness and convenience, the skin also acts as a “reservoir” that sustains delivery over a period of days. Although hair follicles, reaching from the outermost parts of the skin to the blood vessels, generally allow direct access of drug/bioactive compounds, such agents predominantly penetrate and permeate the skin by passing the horny layer, specifically using the tortuous intercellular pathway between the corneocytes. The advantages of using nanoparticles as a drug delivery system include that the surface characteristics and particle size of nanoparticles can be easily fabricated to achieve both active and passive drug targeting after administration.
