The use of oil-in-water emulsions as a vehicle for parenteral drug administration.

Oil-in-water emulsion formulations are useful for the parenteral administration of drugs which have significant delivery problems. Drugs may be incorporated into emulsion formulations either by emulsification of the drug dissolved in the oil phase, or by extemporaneous addition of a concentrated solution in a cosolvent to a commercial i.v. emulsion. Examples are given of the use of parental emulsion dosage forms for the delivery of drugs which have low water solubility, lack stability to hydrolysis, are irritant or have substantial affinity for plastic infusion sets. These examples are largely drawn from studies of novel cytotoxic agents. Emulsion dosage forms may also have some potential for site-directed drug delivery or for sustained release applications. The potential hazards of parenteral emulsions and some of the means of size determination of the dispersed oil droplets are also examined.