Interactions of external lipids (lipid vesicles) with the skin

Abstract

Introduction

A number of studies suggest that topically applied lipid vesicles are one type of the so-called “percutaneous penetration enhancer” which suppress the dominating role of the stratum corneum penetration barrier (1,2). It has been shown by these authors that phospholipid vesicles enhance the penetration of compounds incorporated and/or encapsulated in them. One-dimensional electron paramagnetic resonance imaging and EPR reduction kinetics of the hydrophilic spin probe ASL also showed that egg lecithin/cholesterol liposomes facilitated the transport of this probe into porcine skin (3). However, most of the vesicles disintegrated and only 5% of the encapsulated spin probe were protected from reduction in the horny layer. The authors presume that small amounts of the probe are either transported encapsulated into the skin or that their transport is facilitated by liposomal lipids.