Emerging Applications of Pickering Emulsions in Pharmaceutical Formulations: A Comprehensive Review

Over the past two decades, particle-stabilized Pickering emulsions (PEs) have emerged as a versatile platform in pharmaceutical formulations, demonstrating distinct advantages over surfactant-based systems through enhanced stability, reduced toxicity, and tunable interfacial properties. These systems exhibit unique drug delivery potential through their precisely controllable architecture, particularly in achieving spatiotemporal drug release patterns, tissue-specific targeting, and enhanced therapeutic payload encapsulation. In this review, the characteristics of PEs are first detailed, followed by an introduction to the main preparation methods and the key parameters for controlling the type, droplet size, and stability of PEs. The third section categorizes and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various solid particles as emulsifiers. Lastly, emphasis is placed on the application of PEs in the pharmaceutical field, including functionalized designs and various administration routes to enlighten the rational design of PEs for effective drug delivery.