Vol. 7, Issue 2, Part I (2025)

To reduce systemic adverse effects, topical medication is often required for fungal infections (mycoses) affecting the skin, nails, and mucous membranes. However, many antifungal drugs such as itraconazole, clotrimazole, and bifonazole have poor water solubility, limited skin penetration, and reduced therapeutic efficacy in conventional topical formulations. An attractive approach is to use microemulsions due to their high drug loading capacity, thermodynamic stability and their potential ability in improving penetration across the stratum corneum by lipid perturbation. Due to the unique properties of these transparent, nano-sized (5-200 nm) carriers that allow for solubilization of hydrophilic and lipophilic drugs with controlled and sustained release; this promise turned into reality. The preparation method mainly consists of the construction of a pseudo-ternary phase diagram Tosa = allowing for an oil and surfactant screening for their solubilization process, factorial optimization, and characterization in terms of droplet size (Dv), zetapotential (mV m) and viscosity as well as TEM imaging stability. Microemulsion-based hydrogels further improve patient acceptability and retention time by overcoming the inherently low viscosity of microemulsions alone. These systems have applications in parenteral, oral, nasal, and especially topical drug delivery. Despite their advantages, certain challenges remain, including surfactant-induced irritation, stability issues, and limited penetration into hair follicles and nails. Future research is expected to focus on combination therapies, mucoadhesive and film-forming technologies, nano-enabled systems, new antifungal agents, targeted delivery strategies, and improved safety profiles. Overall, microemulsions represent a versatile and effective approach for enhancing the solubility, stability, and topical penetration of antifungal medications.