Transethosomes: Novel Transdermal Drug Delivery Technology

The transdermal route is one of the effective routes for delivering drugs. It also overcomes many limitations associated with oral delivery. One of the limitations of this route is the drug’s poor skin permeability—stratum corneum, the skin’s outermost layer that also acts as a barrier for the drug to penetrate. Traditional liposomal formulation is utilized to overcome these limitations. However, these liposomes also have certain difficulty in delivering drugs across the barriers. Ultra-deformable vesicles are novel vesicular structures that are flexible and stable, they can easily bypass the skin barriers more efficiently and thus enhance bioavailability. These vesicles consist of ethosomes, transethosomes, and transferosomes. Transethosomes are more advanced than other vesicular systems because they contain ethanol, phospholipids, and edge activators, making them more deformable and easier to penetrate deeper skin membranes. These vesicular systems can be prepared by various methods, such as cold, hot, and thin film hydration. Characterization of transethosomes includes vesicular size, zeta potential, polydispersity index and encapsulation efficiency, stability, and drug release studies. These vesicular systems can be utilized to deliver a variety of medications transdermally, including analgesics, antibiotics, and arthritis medications. Since a few years ago, the delivery of drugs through the skin has gained popularity. By doing so, it gets around problems with the oral route. Despite the fact that only a few pathways are as appealing as the transdermal route, it is difficult to deliver drugs through the skin. Researchers have developed a technique that allows the medicine to be encapsulated into vesicles, which may then go deep into the layer of skin to reach the target spot. Consequently, bioactive agents can penetrate the skin more effectively. Liposomes, niosomes, transethosomes, and transferosomes are vesicular systems that frequently remain collected in the skin layers. Transethosomes can pass through multiple layers of skin because they have tiny particle sizes and can change the form of vesicles more easily than another vesicular system. Transethosomes allow the medicine to be conveniently delivered to the target place. Ethanol, phospholipids, and an edge stimulator make up transethosomes. Transethosomes’ ability to penetrate the skin is improved by ethanol and edge stimulators. It increases patient cooperation because it is a non intrusive procedure. It also improves the effectiveness of drug entrapment. These vesicles can hold a wide range of medications, including pain relievers, antitumor medicines, steroids, proteins, and peptides Transethosomes minimize plasma fluctuations, first-pass metabolism, organ toxicity, and poor bioavailability. This comprehensive review provides an in-depth exploration of transethosomes, starting with an overview of the impact of formulation components on their properties and effective targeting. This article delves into the production techniques and evaluation properties employed to ensure efficient drug delivery. A significant contribution of this review lies in the analysis of various routes of administration for transethosomes, including transdermal, transvaginal, pulmonary, and ocular delivery, showcasing the versatility of transethosome-loaded with drugs and their potential to target specific tissues to achieve controlled release.