| Over the past 15 years, development of polymeric entities and their applications as drug delivery systems have been a promising alternative to overcome protein and anti-inflammatory oral administration drawbacks. Designing oral protein delivery systems has been a persistent challenge to scientists due to their instability in gastrointestinal fluids and poor absorption. Proteins would be denatured by enzymatic action or even by the acidic pH in the stomach, which results in the loss of biological activity. On the other hand, anti-inflammatories do not present stability problems but serious side effects, like stomach ulcers, caused in patients. In this regard, some pharmaceutical approaches such us molecules that act as carriers for proteins, bioadhesive systems and pH sensitive systems have been used with different degrees of success. Thus, the present mini-review discuss these approaches and details the latest state of pH-sensitive polymers development as drug delivery systems. It also shows the increasing interest in block copolymers and enteric nanoparticles structures and their potential applications in oral delivery of proteins and anti-inflammatories. |
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