Skin, the largest organ in humans, is an efficient route
for the
delivery of drugs as it circumvents several disadvantages of the oral
and parenteral routes. These advantages of skin have fascinated researchers
in recent decades. Drug delivery via a topical route includes moving
the drug from a topical product to a locally targeted region with
dermal circulation throughout the body and deeper tissues. Still,
due to the skin’s barrier function, delivery through the skin
can be difficult. Drug delivery to the skin using conventional formulations
with micronized active components, for instance, lotions, gels, ointments,
and creams, results in poor penetration. The use of nanoparticulate
carriers is one of the promising strategies, as it provides efficient
delivery of drugs through the skin and overcomes the disadvantage
of traditional formulations. Nanoformulations with smaller particle
sizes contribute to improved permeability of therapeutic agents, targeting,
stability, and retention, making nanoformulations ideal for drug delivery
through a topical route. Achieving sustained release and preserving
a localized effect utilizing nanocarriers can result in the effective
treatment of numerous infections or skin disorders. This article aims
to evaluate and discuss the most recent developments of nanocarriers
as therapeutic agent vehicles for skin conditions with patent technology
and a market overview that will give future directions for research.
As topical drug delivery systems have shown great preclinical results
for skin problems, for future research directions, we anticipate including
in-depth studies of nanocarrier behavior in various customized treatments
to take into account the phenotypic variability of the disease.