A comprehensive Review on Topical Vesicular Drug delivery Systems for Antifungal Therapy

The prevalence of fungal infections of skin has increased rapidly, affecting approximately 40 million people across the globe. A wide variety of antifungal drugs has been utilized in the effective management of numerous dermatological infections. Fungal infections are often treated by topical or systemic anti-fungal therapy. Topical fungal therapy is usually preferred because of their targeted therapy, fewer side effects, enhanced efficacy of treatment, and improved patient compliance. Conventional delivery systems have restricted drug delivery across the skin resulting in insufficient therapeutic index and may exert local as well as systemic side effects. Thus, to facilitate the delivery of antifungal drugs and improve the treatment aspects, various novel delivery carriers have been developed. Advanced topical carriers because of their distinct structural and functional features, overcome biopharmaceutical challenges associated with conventional drug delivery systems like poor retention and low bioavailability. This review summarizes recent advances in novel strategies employed in topical carriers to improve the therapeutic performance of anti-fungal drugs.