Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central University of Haryana, Haryana 123031, India
  • 2 School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi 835215, India
  • 4 Department of Pharmaceutics, Amity Institute of Pharmacy, Amity University, Noida, India
  • 5 Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia
Curr Pharm Des, 2023;29(40):3254-3262.
PMID: 37438899 DOI: 10.2174/1381612829666230712162540

Abstract

The prevalence of vaginal infection is increasing among women, especially at reproductive age. For proper eradication of infection, the effective concentration of a drug is required at the infection site. Therefore, local delivery is recommended to exert a direct therapeutic effect at the site action that causes a reduction in dose and side effects. The main focus of vaginal drug delivery is to enhance retention time and patient compliance. The high recurrence rate of vaginal infection due to the lack of effective treatment strategies opens the door for new therapeutic approaches. To combat these setbacks, intravaginal gene therapies have been investigated. High attention has been gained by vaginal gene therapy, especially for sexually transmitted infection treatment. Despite much research, no product is available in the market, although in vitro and preclinical data support the vaginal route as an effective route for gene administration. The main focus of this review is to discuss the recent advancement in miniaturized polymeric systems for intravaginal gene therapies to treat local infections. An overview of different barriers to vaginal delivery and challenges of vaginal infection treatment are also summarised.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.