Vol. 7, Issue 12 (2018)

Author(s):
Abhishek Singh Chauhan, Girijesh Kumar Pandey, Amit Joshi, BK Dubey and Prabhat Jain

Abstract:
Topical drug delivery system has been used broadly for various types of topical diseases. Topical therapy is excellent choice for the treatment of the cutaneous infections due to its advantages such as targeting of drugs to the site of infection and reduction of the risk of complete side effects. Fungal infections of the skin are one of the frequently faced dermatological diseases in worldwide. The previous antifungal drugs that have been used to treat these diseases such as creams, gels and ointment are not capable in treatment of these diseases in terms of bioavailability and therapeutic effect. The effectiveness of that treatment depends on the penetration of drugs through the target layers of the skin at the efficient concentrations, so to overcome this problem Ethosomes have been arrived showing best results in the treatment of topical fungal diseases. However, stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the skin, is an effective barrier for penetration of drugs into deeper layers of the skin. Ethosomes are lipid vesicles which are soft and flexible. They consist of phospholipid, alcohol, poly glycol and water. An alcohol acts as permeation enhancer and increase permeability of skin. The most important feature of Ethosome is to infuse intact through the skin due to its high deformability and also helps to transport the drug molecule more efficiently through the skin in terms of both quantity and depth. Ethosomes can provide effective intracellular delivery of hydrophilic, lipophilic and amphiphilic drug molecules. The size range of Ethosomes varies from tens of nanometer to few microns. Ethosomes have become an area of research interest, because of its special characters such as enhanced skin permeation, improved drug delivery and increased drug entrapment efficiency. This review on Ethosomes drug delivery is to spotlight on the various aspects including their advantages, preparation, characterization, mechanism of penetration, composition and application of Ethosomes.