5. Conclusion
The buccal mucosa is a promising delivery route for drugs that
need to avoid the gastrointestinal tract due to degradation by the
gastric pH, intestinal enzymes, or due to a substantial hepatic first
pass effect. It can also be an alternative to skin, pulmonary, or nasal
delivery. The physiology of the buccal mucosa allows for the pen-
etration of active substances and due to its rapid cellular turnover
and recovery, the use of penetration enhancers is possible.
Moreover, recent publications have proved that the addition of
permeation enhancers on buccal films did not hinder the manufac-
turing capability nor imposed mucosal irritation or toxicity. In the
laboratory scale, film casting remains as the manufacturing process
of choice. Nonetheless, hot-melt extrusion has been successfully
explored as a method for obtaining mucoadhesive buccal films
for the delivery of THC through the buccal mucosa. Many possibil-
ities remain in the design of buccal films, including their recent
application as platforms for the delivery of nanoparticles; however,
the manufacture of patient safe and friendly dosage forms while
improving technologies will keep challenging the pharmaceutical
scientist.