Self-emulsifying drug delivery systems (SEDDS) are a proven method for poorly soluble substances works by increasing the solubility and bioavailability. SEDDS and isotropic mixtures, are composed of oils, surfactants, and occasionally cosolvents. The ability of these formulations and methods to produce microemulsions or fine oil-in-water (o/w) emulsions after moderate stirring and dilution by water phase along the GI tract might be a promising technique for lipophilic agents with dissolution rate-limited absorption. This review provides an outline of SEDDS's numerous advances and biopharmaceutical elements, types, manufacturing, characterization, limitations, and future prospects. The evaluation of SEDDS and its applications are also discussed, focusing on the advances of SEDDS's solid self-emulsifying delivery mechanism and dosage form. By integrating suitable polymer into the formulation, SEDDS may be studied for the creation of a formulation with sustained drug release. This technology's improvement might lead to a new application in the field of medicine delivery. SEDDS has been demonstrated to be quite efficient in increasing oral bioavailability of lipophilic products. SEDDS is one of the promising methods for controlling the characteristics of medications that are not great choices for oral delivery. It is also worth mentioning that SEDDS may be made in variety of solid dosage forms that are acceptable for both oral and parenteral administration.

Coating the solid dosage form, such as tablets, is considered common, but it is a critical process that provides different characteristics to tablets. It increases the value of solid dosage form, administered orally, and thus meets diverse clinical requirements. As tablet coating is a process driven by technology, it relies on advancements in coating techniques, equipment used for the coating process, evaluation of coated tablets, and coated material used. Although different techniques were employed for coating purposes, which may be based on the use of solvents or solvent-free, each of the methods used has its advantages and disadvantages, and the techniques need continued modification too. During the process of film coating, several inter-and intra-batch uniformity of coated material on the tablets is considered a critical point that ensures the worth of the final product, particularly for those drugs that contain an active medicament in the coating layer. Meanwhile, computational modeling and experimental evaluation were actively used to predict the impact of the operational parameters on the final product quality and optimize the variables in tablet coating. The efforts produced by computational modeling or experimental evaluation not only save cost in optimizing the coating process but also saves time. This review delivers a brief review on film coating in solid dosage form, which includes tablets, with a focus on the polymers and processes used in the coating. At the end, some pharmaceutical applications were also discussed.

Essential oils (EOs) are known for their diverse bioactivities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, skin-barrier repairing and anticancer, and therefore, hold profound potential to be used in cosmetic and skincare products. Owing to these properties, EOs have long been utilized to address a range of dermatological issues, from acne and inflammation to aging and dryness. However, problems associated with EOs beset their practical applications, which include high volatility, oxidation, hydrophobic nature, low bioavailability, skin irritation, chemical transformation and poor stability in air and light. A prospective of nanolipidic formulations, including the nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) and solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) system for improved skin delivery of these EOs highlights the possibility of their use in topical applications, which offer several advantages such as improved bioavailability and stability, lower toxicity and higher drug content. These nanoformulations protect the EOs from environmental degradation and improve their penetration into deeper skin layers, leading to prolonged therapeutic benefits. The delivery of bioactive agents using a conventional topical preparation exhibits low penetration, frequent applications, poor adherence and prolonged therapy duration, whereas the novel delivery system exhibits improved stability of the drug, enhanced skin penetration, enhanced retention and better therapeutic efficacy. This review provides a comprehensive compendium of information on EOs, which are widely used in skincare, along with their nanolipidic formulations for maximized skincare uses. The mechanism of action of EOs as skin bioactive agents, challenges associated with their use, advances in nanolipidic formulations and their market value as cosmetic skincare products are also explored.

Over the past few decades, researchers and companies have been trying to develop novel drug delivery systems to ensure safety, efficacy, compliance, and patient acceptability. Nowadays drug discovery and development are expensive, complex, and time-consuming processes, but trends are moving toward novel drug delivery systems. This delivery system helps to achieve drug response by local and systemic action through different routes. This novel approach of preparing orodispersible films (ODFs) provides benefits to paediatric, geriatric, and bedridden patients. This review paper aims to provide details on the preparation, characterization, and evaluation of ODFs; it also aims to focus on the positive and negative factors that affect film formulation and give an insight into potential drug candidates and polymers for use in ODFs. ODFs are effective, safe, and have good bioavailability as compared to fast-disintegrating tablets. The novel approach has various advantages because it provides instant effects in emergency situations and in schizophrenic and dysphasic patients without the need for taking water, the films disintegrating within a few seconds in the oral cavity. The solvent casting method is the most frequently used technique to develop ODFs, using film-forming polymers, which have a fast disintegration time, improved drug dissolution, and better drug contents.

The occurrence of fungal infections has increased over the past two decades. It is observed that superficial fungal infections are treated by conventional dosage forms, which are incapable of treating deep infections due to the barrier activity possessed by the stratum corneum of the skin. This is why the need for a topical preparation with advanced penetration techniques has arisen. This research aimed to encapsulate fluconazole (FLZ) in a novasome in order to improve the topical delivery. The novasomes were prepared using the ethanol injection technique and characterized for percent entrapment efficiency (EE), particle size (PS), zeta potential (ZP), drug release, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and antifungal activity. The FN7 formulation with 94.45% EE, 110 nm PS and −24 ZP proved to be the best formulation. The FN7 formulation showed a 96% release of FLZ in 8 h. FTIR showed the compatibility of FLZ with excipients and DSC studies confirmed the thermal stability of FLZ in the developed formulation. The FN7 formulation showed superior inhibition of the growth of Candida albicans compared to the FLZ suspension using a resazurin reduction assay, suggesting high efficacy in inhibiting fungal growth.

In the current study, a pH sensitive intelligent hydroxypropyl–β–cyclodextrin-based polymeric network (HP-β-CD-g-MAA) was developed through a solution polymerization technique for site specific delivery of cytarabine in the colonic region. Prepared hydrogel formulations were characterized through cytarabine loading (%), ingredient’s compatibility, structural evaluation, thermal integrity, swelling pattern, release behavior and toxicological profiling in rabbits. Moreover, the pharmacokinetic profile of cytarabine was also determined in rabbits. New polymer formation was evident from FTIR findings. The percentage loaded into the hydrogels was in the range of 37.17–79.3%. Optimum swelling ratio of 44.56 was obtained at pH 7.4. Cytarabine release was persistent and in a controlled manner up to 24 h. In vitro degradation of hydrogels was more pronounced at intestinal pH as compared to acidic pH. Toxicity studies proved absence of any ocular, skin and oral toxicity, thus proving biocompatibility of the fabricated network. Hydrogels exhibited longer plasma half-life (8.75 h) and AUC (45.35 μg.h/mL) with respect to oral cytarabine solution. Thus, the developed hydrogel networks proved to be excellent and biocompatible cargo for prolonged and site-specific delivery of cytarabine in the management of colon cancer.