New Formulation Strategies in Topical Antifungal Therapy

Fungal infections of the skin are one of the often faced with dermatological diseases in worldwide. Topical therapy is an attractive choice for the treatment of the cutaneous infections due to its advantageous such as targeting of drugs to the site of infection and reduction of the risk of systemic side effects. Currently, antifungal drugs are generally used as conventional cream and gel preparations in topical treatment. The efficiency of that treatment depends on the penetration of drugs through the target layers of the skin at the effective concentrations. However, stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the skin, is an effective barrier for penetration of drugs into deeper layers of the skin. The physicochemical characteristics of drug molecules and the types of the formulations are effective factors in topical drug delivery. Therefore, a number of formulation strategies have been investigated for delivering antifungal compounds through targeted site of the skin. This review article focuses on the new alternative formulation approaches to improve skin penetration of antifungal drugs.