Current Development of Chemical Penetration Enhancers for Transdermal Insulin Delivery

Abstract

The use of the transdermal delivery system has recently gained ample recognition due to the ability to deliver drug molecules across the skin membrane, serving as an alternative to conventional oral or injectable routes. Subcutaneous insulin injection is the mainstay treatment for diabetes mellitus which often leads to non-compliance among patients, especially in younger patients. Apart from its invasiveness, the long-term consequences of insulin injection cause the development of physical trauma, which includes lipohypertrophy at the site of administration, scarring, infection, and sometimes nerve damage. Hence, there is a quest for a better alternative to drug delivery that is non-invasive and easily adaptable. One of the potential solutions is the transdermal delivery method. However, the stratum corneum (the top layer of skin) is the greatest barrier in transporting large molecules like insulin. Therefore, various chemical enhancers have been proposed to promote stratum corneum permeability, or they are designed to increase the permeability of the full epidermis, such as the use of ionic liquid, peptides, chemical pre-treatment as well as packaging insulin with carriers or nanoparticles. In this review, the recent progress in the development of chemical enhancers for transdermal insulin delivery is discussed along with the possible mechanistic of action and the potential outlook on the proposed permeation approaches in comparison to other therapeutical drugs

PVA/guanidinium oleate transdermal patch as a pH-responsive drug delivery system for the localized and targeted delivery of anticancer drugs

“…[9][10][11][12] To address this limitation, traditional chemical enhancers such as ethanol, sulfoxide, azone, and terpenoids have been explored; however, safety concerns as well as toxicity and skin irritation issues persist, emphasizing the need for innovative solutions in transdermal drug delivery. [13][14][15][16] Recently, ionic liquids (ILs) have attracted attention owing to their tunable physico-chemical characteristics and environment-friendly nature.…”

Chiral Supramolecular Hydrogel Enhanced Transdermal Delivery of Sodium Aescinate to Modulate M1 Macrophage Polarization Against Lymphedema

“…[ 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ] Chemical methods usually use some penetration enhancers, such as lipids, alcohols, organic salts, etc., but they have irritating effects on the skin, and their use alone is not ideal. [ 34 ] Among the various strategies to enhance the transdermal transmission of drugs, hydrogels have been described as a desirable drug delivery system when compared to other topically applied forms. [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ] In particular, some chemically cross‐linked polymer hydrogels, such as hyaluronic acid, cellulose, chitosan, and so on, have been widely used as transdermal delivery systems.…”

From Plants to Wound Dressing and Transdermal Delivery of Bioactive Compounds

“…Some are often used as medicinal agents or ingredients in cosmetic products. Monoterpenes frequently used as SC penetration agents are anethol, borneol, and campho (used in commercial TP for pain release); carvacol, carvone, and 1.8-1.4 cineol (used for TDDS in psychiatry); cymene, eugenol, fenchone, geraniol, limonene, linalool, and menthol (used as an enhancer and also for pain release); menthone, a-pinen oxide, pulegone, rose oxide, safranal, terpinene-4-ol, a-terpineol, tetra-hydrogeneraniol, and tymol (oral patches); and verbenone (perfumery and cosmetic use) [215,[224][225][226][227][228][229][230][231][232][233][234][235][236][237][238][239][240][241][242]. -Sesquiterpenes are the class of SM consisting of three isoprene units (C15) and are found in linear, cyclic, bicyclic, and tricyclic forms.…”