Oral administration is a desirable alternative of parenteral administration due to the\nconvenience and increased compliance to patients, especially for chronic diseases that require\nfrequent administration. The oral drug delivery is a dynamic research field despite the\nnumerous challenges limiting their effective delivery, such as enzyme degradation, hydrolysis\nand low permeability of intestinal epithelium in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. pH-Responsive\ncarriers offer excellent potential as oral therapeutic systems due to enhancing the stability of\ndrug delivery in stomach and achieving controlled release in intestines. This review provides a\nwide perspective on current status of pH-responsive oral drug delivery systems prepared\nmainly with organic polymers or inorganic materials, including the strategies used to overcome\nGI barriers, the challenges in their development and future prospects, with focus on technology\ntrends to improve the bioavailability of orally delivered drugs, the mechanisms of drug release\nfrom pH-responsive oral formulations, and their application for drug delivery, such as protein\nand peptide therapeutics, vaccination, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and bacterial\ninfections.
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