Dry powder inhalers of antitubercular drugs

Despite advancements in the medical and pharmaceutical fields, tuberculosis remains a major health problem globally. Patients do not widely accept the conventional approach to treating tuberculosis (TB) due to prolonged treatment periods with multiple high doses of drugs and associated side effects. A pulmonary route is a noninvasive approach to delivering drugs, hormones, nucleic acid, steroids, proteins, and peptides directly to the lungs, improving the efficacy of the treatment and consequently decreasing the adverse effect of the treatment. This route has been successfully developed for the treatment of various respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), tuberculosis (TB), lung cancer, and other pulmonary infections. The major approaches of inhalation delivery systems include nebulizers, metered-dose inhalers (MDIs), and dry powder inhalers (DPIs). However, dry powder inhalers (DPIs) are more advantageous due to their stability and ability to deliver a high dose of the drug to the lungs. The present review analyzes the modern therapeutic approach of inhaled dry powders, with a special focus on novel drug delivery system (NDDS) based DPIs for the treatment of TB. The article also discussed the challenges of preparing inhalable dry powder formulations for the treatment of TB. The clinical development of inhalable anti-TB drugs is also reviewed.

Automated summary

Despite advancements in medical and pharmaceutical fields, tuberculosis remains a global health problem. Utilizing a noninvasive pulmonary route for drug delivery can improve treatment efficacy and reduce adverse effects. Dry powder inhalers (DPIs) are advantageous due to their stability and ability to deliver high drug doses to the lungs. This review discusses the modern therapeutic approach of inhaled dry powders, specifically focusing on novel drug delivery system (NDDS) based DPIs for tuberculosis treatment. The challenges of preparing inhalable dry powder formulations for tuberculosis treatment and the clinical development of inhalable anti-TB drugs are also reviewed.