title: Emollient foam in topical drug delivery.
abstract: Foams offer an innovative and more convenient means of topical drug delivery. The successful introduction of hydroalcoholic foams paved the way for the development of a new generation of foam products that provide skin barrier build-up and hydration. Such foams, designated as emollient foams consist of oil-in-water or water-in-oil emulsions with necessary excipients, such as non-ionic surfactants, gelling agents and foam adjuvants. Emollient foams can carry a broad variety of topical drugs, including water-soluble, oil-soluble and suspended active agents. This paper reviews emollient foam compositions and their physicochemical properties. It further accounts for the usability and functional advantages of emollient foam as a vehicle of topical drugs, including: i) improved usability, which affects treatment, compliance and, consequently, improves therapeutic results; ii) safety; iii) controllable drug delivery; iv) skin barrier build-up and hydration; and v) enhanced clinical efficacy.
authors.affiliation: Foamix Ltd, Weizmann Science Park, Ness Ziona 74140, Israel. Dov@Foamix.co.il
authors.forename: Dov
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tamarkin
authors.forename: Doron
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: Avner
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shemer
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000818:Animals; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000191:economics; D004643:Emollients / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000191:economics; D004655:Emulsions; D006801:Humans; D040541:Marketing
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D004643:Emollients; D004655:Emulsions