The skin is a large and accessible area of the body, offering the possibility to be used as an alternative route for drug delivery. In the last few years strong progress has been made on the developing of nanoparticulate systems for specific applications. The interaction of such small particles with human skin and their possible penetration attracted some interest from toxicological as well as ...

In this study we tested the hypothesis that magainin, a peptide known to form pores in bacterial cell membranes, can increase skin permeability by disrupting stratum corneum lipid structure. We further hypothesized that magainin's enhancement requires co-administration with a surfactant chemical enhancer to increase magainin penetration into the skin. In support of these hypotheses, exposure to...

Background: in this paper, a new physical penetration technology for transdermal administration with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) characteristics Fu’s cupping therapy (FCT) was established and studied by in-vitro and in-vivo experiments; the penetration effect and mechanism of FCT physical penetration technology (FCT-PPT) was preliminarily discussed. Method: Indomethacin (IM) as a model d...

Cilostazol (CLZ), an anti-platelet agent, is primarily used following the onset of cerebral infarction. However, as CLZ is only marginally soluble in water, a strategy for patients with serious secondary conditions, such as impaired consciousness or aphagia, is required. In the present study, topical formulations containing CLZ nanocrystals (CLZnano) were designed to enhance percutaneous absorp...

In this work, we examined enhanced skin delivery of minoxidil applied in nanoemulsions incorporating skin penetration enhancers. Aliquots of fully characterized oil-in-water nanoemulsions (1 mL), containing minoxidil (2%) and the skin penetration enhancer oleic acid or eucalyptol as oil phases, were applied to full-thickness excised human skin in Franz diffusion cells, while aqueous solutions (...

BACKGROUND Topical application of oils and oil-based formulations is common practice in skin care for both adults and infants. Only limited knowledge however is available regarding skin penetration and occlusive potential of oils and common methods for measuring skin moisturization fall short when it comes to the moisturizing effect of oils. OBJECTIVE In this study we used in vivo confocal Ra...

Our study presents a new method for tracking nanoparticle penetration through different layers of the skin using near-infrared dye-loaded nanoparticles (hydrodynamic diameter = 156 nm) and optical imaging. The dye-loaded nanoparticles were mixed in a topical skin cream, applied to human cadaver skin and incubated either for three or 24 h post-application, skin tissue was clipped between glass s...