SELF-MICROEMULSIFYING DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM: SOLIDIFICATION TECHNIQUES, DOSAGE FORM AND EVALUATION.

Low aqueous solubility is attributed to the low oral bioavailability is a major problem for formulation scientist as most of recent drugs are lipophilic in nature and their lower solubility and dissolution is a major limitation for their successful formulation. Nowadays much more attention has been given on Self-microemulsifying drug delivery systems (SMEDDS) mainly used to improve the bioavailability of hydrophobic drugs. SMEDDS are mainly formulated in a liquid dosage form, which possess some disadvantages. In order to minimize those disadvantages it become necessity to convert it into an solid form .Accordingly, solid SMEDDS (S-SMEDDS), prepared by solidification of liquid/semisolid self-emulsifying (SE) ingredients into powders, have gained popularity. This article emphasizes on the recent advances in the study of S-SMEDDS, mainly the solidification techniques and the development of the solid SE dosage forms. Moreover, the existing problems and the possible future research direction in this field are also mentioned over here.