ISSN 2395-3411 Available online at www.ijpacr.com 102 International Journal of Pharma And Chemical Research I Volume 2 I Issue 2 I Apr – Jun I 2016 ______________________________________________________________Review Article Topical Sprays: Novel Drug Delivery System Prakarsha Chavan, Amrita Bajaj and Akkshata Parab* Department of Pharmaceutics, SVKM’s Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Pharmacy, Vile Parle (West), Mumbai - 400 056, Maharashtra, India. _________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT Topical drug delivery systems have been found to have many advantages over oral drug delivery systems such as avoidance of first pass metabolism, gastro intestinal irritability, slow onset of action, etc. The clinical evidence indicates that conventional topical formulations possess certain short comings like irritancy, allergies due to the variety of excipients used. This review deals with all detailed information regarding rational approach to novel topical formulations like topical/ transdermal sprays and their formulation, fabrication and evaluation parameters. Keywords: Topical sprays, Metered dose transdermal spray, Advanced Preservative Free Container. INTRODUCTION Over the last few decades the treatment of illness has been accomplished by administering drugs to human body via various other routes in addition to traditional oral and sublingual routes like rectal, parenteral, topical, inhalation, etc. With the advent of new era of pharmaceutical dosage forms, topical drug delivery systems have established themselves as integral part of novel drug delivery products. Topical drug delivery systems (TDDS) are gaining increase in popularity and several drugs have been successfully delivered by topical/transdermal route for both local and systemic action. Topical/transdermal drug delivery systems offer the non-invasive delivery of medication from the surface of skin, the largest and most accessible organ of human body-through its layers, to the circulatory system 1 . Topical delivery is the application of a drug containing formulation to the skin to directly treat cutaneous disorders or other effects within the skin. Topical drug delivery systems offer many advantages over conventional injection and oral methods. It reduces the load that the oral route commonly places on the digestive tract and liver. It enhances patient compliance and minimizes harmful side effects of a drug caused due to temporary overdose 2 . The development of TDDS is multidisciplinary activity that encompasses fundamental feasibility studies starting from the selection of drug molecule to the demonstration of sufficient drug flux in an ex vivo and in vivo model followed by fabrication of a drug delivery system that meets all the stringent needs that are specific to the drug molecule (physicochemical and stability factors), the patient (comfort and cosmetic appeal), the manufacturer (scale up and manufacturability) and most important the economy. Topical preparations are used for the localized effects at the site of their application by virtue of drug penetration into the underlying layers of skin or mucous membranes 3 . Advantages of Topical Drug Delivery Systems 4  Avoidance of first pass metabolism.  Convenient and easy to apply.  Achievement of efficacy with lower total daily dosage of drug due to continuous drug input.  Avoidance of gastro-intestinal incompatibility.  Improve patient compliance. Limitations of Topical Drug Delivery Systems 5  Skin irritation and contact dermatitis may occur due to the drug and/or excipients.  Can be used only for drugs which require very small plasma concentration for action.  Drugs of larger molecular size are not easy to be absorbed by the skin. Topical dosage forms, an alternative to conventional formulations, are becoming popular because of their unique advantages. The topical