Review Article

Lipid-Based Drug Delivery Systems

Table 2

Emulsifiers used in lipid-based formulations.

Common name/typeExamples

Low HLB (<10) emulsifier
Phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylcholine/solvent mixturesPhosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylcholine in propylene glycol, phosphatidylcholine in medium chain triglycerides, and phosphatidylcholine in safflower oil/ethanol
Unsaturated polyglycolized glyceridesOleoyl macrogolglycerides, linoleoyl macrogolglycerides
Sorbitan esters Sorbitan monooleate, sorbitan monostearate, sorbitan monolaurate, and sorbitan monopalmitate

High HLB (>10) emulsifier
Polyoxyethylene sorbitan estersPolysorbate 20, polysorbate 40, polysorbate 60, and polysorbate 80
Polyoxyl castor oil derivativesPolyoxyl 35 castor oil, polyoxyl 40 hydrogenated castor oil
Polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene block copolymer Poloxamer 188, poloxamer 407
Saturated polyglycolized glyceridesLauroyl macrogolglycerides, stearoyl macrogolglycerides
PEG-8 caprylic/capric glyceridesCaprylocaproyl macrogolglycerides
Vitamin E derivativeTocopherol PEG succinate