CREAMS

creams
• Pharmaceutical creams are semisolid preparations
containing one or more medicinal agents dissolved or
dispersed in either a W/O emulsion or an O/W
emulsion or in another type of water-washable base.
• Creams are more fluid compared to other semisolid
dosage forms, such as ointments and pastes, since the
bases used in creams are generally o/w emulsions.
• Creams have a whitish with creamy appearance.
• The use of creams as drug delivery systems is associated
with good patient acceptance
 Uses
• Act as a barrier to protect the skin
• Aid in water retention of moisture
• Cleansing and emollient
• Act as vehicle for drug substances
Medicated creams
• Oil-in-water emulsions are most useful as
water washable bases, whereas water-in-oil
emulsions are emollient and cleansing.

w/o cream o/w cream

Contain lipophyllic emulsifying agent Contains o/w emulsifying agent

Use as emollient or as cleansing agent o/w creams are elegant in appearance

and more accepted cosmetically
 Cold cream
A semisolid white w/o emulsion prepared with cetyl ester wax, white wax,
mineral oil, sodium borate, and purified water.

• Sodium borate combines with free fatty acids present in the waxes to form
sodium salts of fatty acids (soaps) that act as emulsifiers.

• These are produced by emulsifying agents of natural origin, e.g. beeswax,

wool alcohols or wool fat.

• They are useful as softening and cleansing agents ex. a cold cream is used
to remove makeup.

• The name, cold cream, refers to the cooling sensation associated with the
slow evaporation of the dispersed aqueous phase.

• Other common cold cream components include mineral oil, jojoba oil,
lanolin, glycerin, alcohol, borax, and beeswax in addition to preservatives
such as methylparaben and propylparaben..
 creams
• Creams find primary application in topical skin products
and in products used rectally and vaginally.

• Patients often prefer a w/o cream to an ointment

because the cream spreads more readily, is less greasy,
and the evaporating water soothes the inflamed tissue.

• Pharmaceutical manufacturers frequently manufacture

topical preparations of a drug in both cream and
ointment bases to satisfy the preference of the patient
and physician.
 Vanishing cream
• an o/w emulsion that contains a large percentage of water as well
as a humectant (e.g., sorbitol, glycerin, or propylene glycol) that
retards surface evaporation of water.

• These are produced by synthetic waxes, e.g. macrogol and

cetomacrogol

• They are useful as water-washable bases

• Examples : Shaving creams , Hand creams , Foundation creams

• Upon rubbing this cream on the skin, the external/continuous

aqueous phase evaporates, leading to increased concentration of a
water-soluble drug in the oily film that adheres to the skin. This
increase in the concentration gradient of the drug across the
stratum corneum promotes percutaneous absorption
 creams
• An o/w cream is non-occlusive because it does
not deposit a continuous film of water-
impervious liquid.

• However, such a cream can deposit lipids and

other moisturizers on and into the stratum
corneum and so restore the tissue's hydration
ability, i.e. the preparation has emollient
properties.
 Manufacturing process
• Preparation usually involves separating the formula
components into two portions: lipid and aqueous.
• The lipid portion contains all water-insoluble components
and the aqueous portion the water-soluble components.
• Both phases are heated to a temperature above the melting
point of the highest melting component.
• The phases then are mixed, and the mixture is stirred until
reaching ambient temperature or the mixture has congealed.
• Mixing generally is continued during the cooling process to
promote uniformity.
• High-shear homogenization may be employed to reduce
particle or droplet size and improve the physical stability of
the resultant dosage form.
• The active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can be added to
the phase in which it is soluble at the beginning of the
process, or
• it can be added after the cream is prepared by a suitable
dispersion process such as levigation or milling with a roller
mill.
• Creams usually require the addition of a preservative(s)
unless they are compounded immediately prior to use and
intended to be consumed in a relatively short period of time.