An overview of emulgels for topical application

Abstract

In recent years, gels have been preferentially used for cosmetics and topical pharmaceutical preparations due to their favorable characteristics, such as being greaseless, readily spreadable and easily removable. However, one obstacle that faced it was the inability to enclose hydrophobic compounds. Therefore, a novel approach was developed to circumvent this limitation by mixing the gel with an emulsion, which led to creation of a new topical drug delivery system known as emulgel. Emulgel preserves all favorable features of gel and provides also dual release for drug, thus can be utilized effectively in controlling release and absorption of medication after topical application. Emulgel preparation requires coherent steps, this includes preparation of emulsion and gel and determining their mixing ratio. Finally, the prepared emulgels should be evaluated to ensure their suitability and efficacy for the topical application.