Role of Surfactant and Co-surfactant in Microemulsion: A Review

Abstract

Microemulsions are one in all the most effective candidates as novel drug delivery system due to their long time period stability, improved drug solubilization with simple preparation and administration. Surfactants and cosurfactants play crucial role to get stable, mild and clinically acceptable microemulsions in their optimized concentration, The main aim of the study to produce an efficient screening approach for the surfactant and cosurfactant selection for the excipients of microemulsion formulation development and to check the consequences of surfactant hydrophilic–lipophilic balance (HLB) as well solubilization stability process in microemulsion. The composition and extent of surfactants and cosurfactants were key variables for physicochemical properties of drug-loaded Microemulsions. The important aspects must be considered for a successful microemulsion process is that the stability of the liquid membrane. This study is an attempt to grasp the mechanism of the effect of the surfactant and chain length of co-surfactants within the microemulsion base formulation stability.

Design and evaluation of deltamethrin‐based microemulsion formulation to control Aphis gossypii (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

“…In this study, 1‐butanol was used as a cosurfactant for the formation of the microemulsions. Cosurfactant must be soluble in oil, and short‐chain alcohols can be used as a cosurfactant to enhance the solubility of active ingredients by reducing interfacial free energies and tensions (Ande et al., 2022). In the present study, 1‐butanol effectively incorporated the minimum amount of surfactant in the microemulsion system.…”

Exploring the Versatility of Microemulsions in Cutaneous Drug Delivery: Opportunities and Challenges

“…The co-surfactant is typically a short-chain alcohol or a glycol, which enhances the solubilization capacity of the surfactant and helps to stabilize the microemulsion [ 20 , 54 ]. The aqueous phase can be composed of water or an aqueous buffer, depending on the desired pH of the system [ 47 , 55 ].…”

“…Microemulsions are optically transparent [ 17 ], thermodynamically stable [ 10 , 18 ], and possess a low interfacial tension, making them an attractive option for drug delivery [ 19 ]. They are typically composed of an oil phase, a surfactant, a co-surfactant, and an aqueous phase [ 17 , 20 ]. The small droplet size, typically ranging from 10 to 100 nm, of microemulsions enables efficient drug solubilization and enhanced bioavailability [ 21 , 22 ].…”