Nanoemulsion: an advanced mode of drug delivery system

TLDR

Nanoemulsions are thermodynamically stable, isotropic nano-sized emulsions (20–200 nm droplets) formed by mixing two immiscible liquids with surfactants, designed to improve delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients. The review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of nanoemulsion formulation, preparation, characterization, evaluation, and applications. It discusses formulation strategies, preparation methods, characterization techniques, evaluation parameters, and applications of nanoemulsions. The review highlights an advanced drug delivery mode that overcomes major drawbacks of conventional systems.

Abstract

An advanced mode of drug delivery system has been developed to overcome the major drawbacks associated with conventional drug delivery systems. This review gives a detailed idea about a nanoemulsion system. Nanoemulsions are nano-sized emulsions, which are manufactured for improving the delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients. These are the thermodynamically stable isotropic system in which two immiscible liquids are mixed to form a single phase by means of an emulsifying agent, i.e., surfactant and co-surfactant. The droplet size of nanoemulsion falls typically in the range 20-200 nm. The main difference between emulsion and nanoemulsion lies in the size and shape of particles dispersed in the continuous phase. In this review, the attention is focused to give a basic idea about its formulation, method of preparation, characterization techniques, evaluation parameters, and various applications of nanoemulsion.