Purpose: As the development of modern drug discovery techniques, there has been increase in the number of pharmaceutical compounds that are poorly water soluble. These lipophilic compounds possess low dissolution rate and therefore low bioavailability. The Formulation scientists should adopt various strategies to enhance their absorption. This paper is an insight for improving the solubility of poorly water soluble compounds.
Approach: Lipidic formulations are found to be a promising approach to combat the solubility challenges. Self Micro Emulsifying Drug Delivery Systems (SMEDDS) are gaining more attention for improving the solubility of the lipophilic drugs.
Findings: SMEDDS are isotropic mixtures of oil, surfactant and co surfactant and are vital tool in solving low bioavailability problems of poorly soluble drugs. Lipophilic drugs can be dissolved in these systems, enabling them to be administered per orally. When this is released into the lumen it results in w/o microemulsion with the aid of G.I fluid.
Conclusion: This present review describes various formulation components, mechanism of emulsification, biopharm aspects, characterization methods and application of SMEDDS.
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