Percutaneous absorption of a drug into hair follicles

Ex vivo evaluation of the percutaneous penetration of proanthocyanidin extracts from Guazuma ulmifolia using photoacoustic spectroscopy

In this work photoacoustic spectroscopy has been applied to determine ex vivo the percutaneous penetration of proanthocyanidins present in extracts obtained from Guazuma ulmifolia, in rats. Lotion formulations containing 0.0663 mg of procyanidin B2 day(-1)animal(-1) were topically applied during 7, 10 and 13 days in each group of the animals. After the end of treatment the animals were killed, the skin dissected to remove the basal content, and the measurements were carried out as a function of the period of time of treatment. The results showed that despite the very low concentration of the active principle (procyanidin B2) in the lotion, the photoacoustic method was able to show the presence of optical absorption bands from this substance in the dermis region, evidencing once again that this method may be useful for studies of topically applied formulations of interest in the pharmacokinetic area.

On-Line Diffusion Profile of a Lipophilic Model Dye in Different Depths of a Hair Follicle in Human Scalp Skin

In skin and hair research, drug targeting to the hair follicle is of great interest in the treatment of skin diseases. The aim of this study is to visualize on-line the diffusion processes of a model fluorophore into the hair follicle at different depths using fresh human scalp skin and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Up to a depth of 500 microm in the skin, a fast increase of fluorescence is observed in the gap followed by accumulation of the dye in the hair cuticle. Penetration was also observed via the stratum corneum and the epidermis. Little label reached depths greater than 2000 microm. Fat cells accumulated the label fastest, followed by the cuticular area and the outer root sheath of the hair follicle. Sweat glands revealed very low staining, whereas the bulb at a depth of 4000 microm was visualized only by autofluorescence. From this study, we conclude that on-line visualization is a promising technique to access diffusion processes in deep skin layers even on a cellular level. Furthermore, we conclude that the gap and the cuticle play an important role in the initial diffusion period with the label in the cuticle originating from the gap.