165 ©Pharmaceutical and Biological Evaluations PHARMACEUTICAL AND BIOLOGICAL EVALUATIONS April 2016; vol. 3 (Issue 2): 165-177. www.onlinepbe.com ISSN 2394-0859 Review Article Current approaches in buccal drug delivery system Shrutika M. Gawas*, Asish Dev, Ganesh Deshmukh, S. Rathod Oriental College of Pharmacy, Sanpada, Navi Mumbai, India *For correspondence Shrutika M. Gawas, Oriental College of Pharmacy, Sanpada, Navi Mumbai, India. Email: asishdev@gmail.com Received: 25 February 2016 Accepted: 15 March 2016 ABSTRACT Buccal delivery involves the administration of the desired drug through the buccal mucosal membrane lining of the oral cavity. The objective of this article is to review buccal drug delivery by discussing the structure and environment of the oral mucosa and highlighting the mechanisms of drug permeation and methodology in evaluating buccal formulations. This review also highlights a brief description of advantages, limitations of buccal drug delivery and theories involved in mucoadhesion along with method of preparation mucoadhesive system, mucoadhesive polymer, and classification of buccal system. Keywords: Buccal drug delivery, Mucoadhesion, Polymers for buccal drug delivery Introduction The pharmaceutical industry has made itself of significant importance making it a major contribution in the healthcare industry. The improvement and developments made by pharmaceutical industry have significantly donated in relationships of treatment of disease, thereby improving the quality of life. 2 Among the delivery routes, oral routes is most preferred route by medical practitioner and manufacturer due to highest acceptability of patients, ease of ingestion, pain avoidance and versatility. 1 The cost involved both in terms of money and time in the development of a particular new chemical entity has made it obligatory for pharmaceutical firms to reconsider delivery approaches to improve the efficacy of drugs that have already been approved. Because of low cost, ease of administration and high level of patient compliance the oral route is perhaps the most preferred to the patient and clinician alike. However administration of drugs has short term limitations like first pass metabolism, which leads to a lack significant correlation between Membrane Permeability, Absorption, Bioavailability and Drug degradation within the gastro intestinal (GI) tract that forbid oral administration of certain classes of drugs eg. proteins and peptides. Other absorptive mucosae, are considered as prospective site for drug administration. Transmucosal routes (mucosal lining of nasal, rectal, vaginal, ocular and oral cavity) offers some distinct advantages such as possible bypass of the first pass effect, avoidance of pre systemic elimination within the GIT and better enzymatic flora for drug absorption. 3-5 Within the oral mucosal cavity, delivery of drugs can be categorised into three classes:  Buccal delivery  Sublingual delivery  Local delivery