Abstract

A REVIEW ON TOPICAL MICROEMULSION FOR ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY

Mamatha G. T. and Pavan Kumar*

.

Abstract

Microemulsions have emerged as novel vehicles for drug delivery that allow sustained or controlled release for percutaneous, peroral, topical, transdermal, ocular, and parenteral administration of medicaments. They offer the advantage of spontaneous formation, ease of manufacturing and scale-up, thermodynamic stability, improved drug solubilization of hydrophobic drugs, and bioavailability. Topical formulations are attractive alternatives to oral formulations and offer several advantages, such as avoiding first-pass hepatic metabolism and gastric degradation. The major obstacle to drug delivery across the skin (transdermal) is the barrier nature of the skin, which limits the permeation of molecules. Skin penetration enhancement techniques have been developed to improve bioavailability and increase the range of drugs for which topical and transdermal delivery is viable. Microemulsions are shown to be an effective dermal delivery mechanism for several active ingredients for pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications. Topical microemulsions allow rapid penetration of active molecules due to the large surface area of the internal phase, and their components reduce the barrier property of the stratum corneum. Microemulsions thereby enhance dermal absorption compared with conventional formulations and are therefore a promising vehicle due to their potential for transdermal drug delivery. This review paper gives information about microemulsions.

Keywords: Microemulsion, Topical Drug Delivery, Drug Absorption from Topical Formulations, Applications.