Microemulsions for the Topical Administration of 5-Fluorouracil: Preparation and Evaluation

The purpose of this study was to prepare and evaluate different formulations of 5-fluorouracil microemulsion base using oleic acid as oil phase, tween-80 as surfactant and isopropyl alcohol as a co-surfactant was selected as good solublising capacity. Microemulsion existence region determined using the pseudo-ternary phase diagram for preparing formulations. Pseudoternary phase diagrams were constructed to obtain the concentration range of oil, surfactant and cosurfactant for microemulsion formulation, and the effect of these additives on skin permeation of 5fluorouracil was evaluated using Keshary Chien diffusion cells mounted with 0.45μ cellulose membrane. The droplet size and zeta potential of the microemulsions was characterized using Zetasizer Nano-ZS. The globule size ranged between 319-512nm. The results indicated that the microemulsion system studied would be a promising tool for enhancing the permeation rate of 5-fluorouracil.