ETHOSOMES: UNIQUE ELASTIC VESICULAR CARRIER – AN OVERVIEW

Ethosomes are phospholipid-based elastic vesicles which have a potential as novel topical and transdermal drug delivery systems. They are ethanolic phospholipids vesicles which can act as carriers for various medicaments. Ethosomes have gained importance in the area of research, because of their intensified skin permeation, better delivery of drug and increased drug entrapment efficiency. These systems are more efficient in delivering substances to the skin because of the presence of ethanol, which provides a net negative charge on the surface, which helps to avoid aggregation of vesicles due to electrostatic repulsion than either conventional liposomes or hydroalcoholic solutions in terms of quantity and depth. Ethosomes are simple to prepare and safe to use. This review attempts to compile the various aspects like mechanism of action, methods of preparation (Hot method, Cold Method, Dispersion method using rotary evaporator) ,advantages, limitations, characterization, applications in different conditions like Anti-inflammatory, Arthritis, Acne, Fungal infections,  Bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, Diabetic condition, Scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus and psoriasis, etc of reported ethosomal formulations for topical and transdermal use. Also, the patented literature has been tabulated