Basic Concepts of Nanoemulsion and its Potential application in Pharmaceutical, Cosmeceutical and Nutraceutical fields

Abstract

One of the widely efficient and noteworthy nanocarriers that could draw a great attention toward pharmaceutical fields is nanoemulsions (NEs). NEs are thermodynamically stable colloidal dispersions composed of two immiscible liquids, oil and water that mixed together using emulsifying agent (surfactant and co-surfactant). It regarded as pharmaceutical dosage form having droplet size within a nanometer range, hence it has extensively considered as carrier for delivering active agents. Such carrier is fabricated in order to overcome some obstacles associated with conventional drug delivery systems especially low bioavailability. The objective of this review is to present an overview about NE and its latest applications in diverse areas such as drug delivery, cosmeceutical and nutraceutical. Clarifications about different mechanisms of NEs development that are frequently used were provided. Correspondingly, popular characterization techniques for NEs such as determination of particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential and viscosity were reviewed. Eventually, summary of physical and chemical instability in addition to the regulatory aspects of NE were provided.