ABSTRACT
The inhalation delivery of therapeutic agents has been known, though poorly
understood, for many years. A wide variety of agents has been administered to the
lung via oral inhalation, for the treatment of diverse disease states. The most
frequent use of inhalation therapy is for the treatment of obstructive airway
diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),
using drugs such as short-and long-acting b sympathomimetics, corticosteroids, and anticholinergic agents. However, the respiratory route has been receiving
increased attention since the early 1990s as a portal route for systemic drug
delivery, most notably for the delivery of inhaled insulin [1,2].
