ABSTRACT
Drug delivery is an important parameter for the effectiveness of any therapy. Conventional drug delivery methods usually result in poor bioavailability and fluctuating drug plasma levels, thus rendering the therapy useless. Controlled drug delivery systems (CDDS) are used to circumvent the problems associated with conventional drug delivery. These systems allow the release of the drug in a sustained manner. Advancements in CDDS have led to the formation of micro- to nano-scaled CDDS for efficient and targeted drug delivery. Multiple techniques are used for the fabrication of these CDDS. Electrohydrodynamic techniques are widely preferred because of their simplicity, versatility, consistency in output, scalability, and economic viability. These include electrospraying and electrospinning. The initial part of this chapter focuses on CDDS, the rationale behind CDDS, its design considerations, and different types of CDDS depending on their release mechanisms. The latter part focuses on the use of electrospinning and electrospraying techniques in the fabrication of CDDS. It also discusses different types of systems developed based on the type of EHD technique used and the factors affecting physicochemical properties and release kinetics of these systems. Further, examples of different types of developed systems on various pharmaceutical applications are also discussed. It concludes with the limitations of these techniques and future directions to overcome these challenges.
