Application of d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) in transdermal and topical drug delivery systems (TDDS)

© 2017, The Korean Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology. d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) is a water-soluble nonionic surfactant, which is prepared from the esterification of Vitamin E succinate with polyethylene glycol 1000. Due to unique amphiphilic structure, TPGS offers many essential properties such as solubilizer, penetration enhancer, stabilizer, emulsifier, antioxidant agent and protection of drug in micelles, which can be used for permeation of drug through skin or deposition of drug in skin. Especially, the applications of TPGS for various systems such as supersaturated system, solid lipid nanoparticles, gels, microemulsions, nanoemulsions and solid dispersions will be discussed in this review.