Novel drug delivery systems: A microemulsion based approach

Now a days, pharmaceutical research is aimed at developing suitable drug delivery systems which will efficiently deliver the drug to fulfill the therapeutic needs of the patient. The development of novel drug delivery should meet/on par with the development of new chemical entities, where majority of the molecules discovered were hydrophobic in nature. In the thrust of developing new delivery systems, microemulsions gained a prominence in the effective delivery of the hydrophobic drugs. Microemulsions are thermodynamically stable, transparent, isotropic, low-viscosity colloidal dispersions consisting of oil and water stabilized by an interfacial film consisting of surfactant/co- surfactant and newtonian non-viscous liquid in nature. They are capable of solubilizing both hydrophilic and lipophilic ingredients with relatively higher capacities. Recently drug delivery systems involving liposomes, emulsions/microemulsions, solid lipid nanoparticles were proven promising in the delivery of poorly soluble/lipophilic compounds. Microemulsions were found to be nanostructured vehicles which can be potentially used for the delivery of the drugs through oral, parenteral and transdermal routes. In the present review microemulsion formulation components and their applications in various delivery systems i.e. oral, parenteral and transdermal are discussed briefly.