Transethosomes: Novel Technology for Skin Delivery of Drugs

Abstract

The human body’s contact with the outside world is the skin, which has a total surface area of roughly 1.8 m2. Because it removes many of the difficulties associated with the oral route, the transdermal mode of medicine administration has aroused a lot of interest in pharmaceutical research. Although the skin, particularly the stratum corneum, is a barrier to most medicine absorption, it does provide a large (1.2 m2) and easily accessible surface area for drug diffusion. Several approaches for improving bioactive delivery through transdermal distribution have recently been investigated. Some of the most frequent examples are iontophoresis, electrophoresis, sonophoresis, chemical permeation enhancers, magnetophoresis, microneedles, and vesicular systems (niosomes, liposomes, elastic liposomes such as transfersomes, ethosomes, and transethosomes). Transethosomes seem to be the most promising of the group, since they include both lipophilic and hydrophilic sections and can take therapeutic compounds with a wide range of solubility. Transethosomes may bend and pass through constrictions that are 5 to 10 times smaller in diameter than their own. Intact vesicles may be pierced more readily due to their high deformability. These vesicles may transport analgesics, anesthetics, corticosteroids, sex hormones, anticancer drugs, insulin, and other pharmaceuticals transdermally.