ABSTRACT
This chapter is a systemic review of the literature spanning the last five years, focusing on the use of nano-dispersions as efficient drug delivery systems in dermal applications, centering on skin cancer. Nanocarriers have been extensively studied in the transport and effective release of a variety of drugs and/or bioactive compounds with varying polarity, hydrophilicity, and lipophilicity. There are various mechanisms by which nanocarriers may interact with skin tissue and deliver their cargo: integration with lipids, passage through the spaces between skin cells, penetration by osmotic phenomena, caused by the high water content beneath stratum corneum, transcellular penetration, absorption through stratum corneum by the release of their cargo and diffusion, and passage through hair follicles and sebaceous glands. Microemulsions and nanoemulsions possess different properties, despite sharing a similar physicochemical background. Both micro- and nano-emulsions have been placed at the epicenter of nanomedicine research, as they affect the pharmacokinetics and the bio-distribution of the encapsulated compounds.
