Emulgel: An Emerging Approach towards Effective Topical Drug Delivery

Background: During the development of the new formulations, the hydrophobic drugs face many problems leading to poor water solubility and problems related to bioavailability. Topical drug delivery is a popular and unique process that directs the action of various drugs on the skin for the treatment and diagnosis of various diseases and disorders such as urticaria, inflammation, rheumatism, etc. This topical release system is usually used to escape the first-pass metabolism. An emulgel is a superior formulation with combined advantages of both an emulsion and agel. Gel preparations normally offer earlier drug release than other predictable ointments and creams. Objective: The main aim of this review is to deal with the problems associated with the delivery of hydrophobic drugs and to tackle these problems using an emulgel formulation. Emulgel mainly provides better stability, prolonged local contact, controlled release of drugs with short half-life, and better loading capacity. Methods: The review was extracted from the searches performed in PubMed, Google Patents, Medline, and Google Scholars, etc. Data from these searches were collected and evaluated to get information about the available literature on the emulgel formulation. The literature obtained was studied thoroughly as per the requirement of the objective of this review. Results: The details of the emulgel formulation, the advantages and disadvantages associated with it, and the methods for characterization of the formulation are compiled here in this review. Along with this, some reported patents have also been included in this review to conclude the future of emulgel formulation in topical drug delivery. Conclusion: Emulgel is becoming very popular as a drug delivery system to deliver many antifungal, analgesics, anti-acne, anti-inflammatory drugs, and a number of cosmetics with a wide scope to be explored further. This review article is motivated by the formulation, characterization, patents, and biological activities of emulgel formulation.