ABSTRACT:
UV (Ultra-violet) rays penetrate the skin and reach the dermal layer of skin resulting in mild or harmful effects such as inflammation, hyper-pigmentation, melasma, sun-burn, photo-aging, and in extreme cases can result in skin cancer. UV rays cause generation of oxidative stress in the skin by producing reactive oxygen species which could be a pioneer for skin disorders. Various vesicular delivery systems such as liposomes, niosomes, ethosomes and transfersomes have been developed to overcome the skin barrier. Transfersomes are ultra-deformable vesicles composed of phospholipids and surfactants. The surfactant used is termed as edge activator which renders the vesicle membrane flexible and allows rearrangement after passing through small pore. Many phyto-constituents and photoprotective agents such as Curcuma longa extract, retinol, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, quercetin, vitamin E (tocopherol), defatted rosemary extract, genistein, and grape seed and stalk extract have been shown to reduce oxidative stress. The challenge for these molecules of accessing the deep layers of the skin can be overcome by incorporating them into transfersomes. This article gives comparison between different drug loaded vesicular systems with respect to skin penetration, deposition, and extent of antioxidant activity. From the literature reviewed we can conclude that transfersomes have better performance than other vesicular systems.