Review on: Microemulsion

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. Topical formulations are attractive alternatives to oral formulations and offer several advantages, such as avoiding first-pass hepatic metabolism and gastric degradation. 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. They offer the advantage of spontaneous formation, ease of manufacturing and scale-up, thermodynamic stability, improved drug solubilization of hydrophobic drugs, and bioavailability. This review paper gives information about microemulsions.