Characterizing Interactions of Chemical Penetration Enhancers with Skin

Transdermal delivery systems can offer painless, controlled drug delivery over a long period of time and bypass several problems with injections and pills, such as first pass hepatic metabolism and patient non-compliance. Chemical penetration enhancers (CPEs) can be used to promote delivery of systemic therapeutics across the skin. Several CPEs are already known to yield sufficient permeability for low molecular weight drugs safely. Our goal is to find more potent CPEs that can help larger and greater varieties of medicinal molecules pass through the skin. At the same time, the CPEs should not irritate the skin and should allow the skin to return to its original state when removed. Binary combinations of CPEs are found to achieve better potency and safety. By using the Fourier Transform Infra Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) to determine how the chemical constitution of skin changes after binary CPEs are introduced, we can hypothesize the mechanisms of interaction. This characterization will enhance our understanding of how these chemicals alter the skin membrane, which will guide the way to finding safer and more potent CPE combinations.