Invasomes are novel vesicular systems that exhibit improved transdermal penetration compared to conventional liposomes. These vesicles contain phospholipids, ethanol, and terpene in their structures; these components confer suitable transdermal penetration properties to the soft vesicles. The main advantages of these nanovesicles lie in their ability to increase the permeability of the drug into the skin and decrease absorption into the systemic circulation, thus, limiting the activity of various drugs within the skin layer. In this paper, several features of invasomes, including their structure, mechanism of penetration, applications, characterization, and potential advantages in dermal drug delivery, are highlighted. Overall, this review suggests that enhanced transdermal penetration of drugs using invasomes provides an appropriate opportunity for the development of lipid vesicular carriers.
Keywords: invasome; liposome; nanocarrier; terpene; transdermal.