Emollient foam in topical drug delivery

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.