Improved Dermal and Transdermal Delivery of Curcumin with SmartFilms and Nanocrystals

Abstract

Poor aqueous solubility of active compounds is a major issue in today’s drug delivery. In this study, the smartFilm technology was exploited to improve the dermal penetration efficacy of a poorly soluble active compound (curcumin). Results were compared to the dermal penetration efficacy of curcumin from curcumin bulk suspensions and nanocrystals, respectively. The smartFilms enabled an effective dermal and transdermal penetration of curcumin, whereas curcumin bulk- and nanosuspensions were less efficient when the curcumin content was similar to the curcumin content in the smartFilms. Interestingly, it was found that increasing numbers of The effect is caused by an aqueous meniscus that is created between particle and skin if the dispersion medium evaporates. The connecting liquid meniscus causes a local swelling of the curcumin particles within the suspensions increased the passive dermal penetration of curcumin. stratum corneum and maintains a high local concentration gradient between drug particles and skin. This leads to a high local passive dermal penetration of curcumin. The findings suggest a new dermal penetration mechanism for active compounds from nanoparticulate drug delivery systems, which can be the base for the development of topical drug products with improved penetration efficacy in the future.

Influence of Massage and Skin Hydration on Dermal Penetration Efficacy of Nile Red from Petroleum Jelly—An Unexpected Outcome

“…Testing the dermal penetration with Franz diffusion cells is tedious work and requires experienced and careful handling. Recent results, however, now demonstrated that results obtained by this technique can even be misleading if poorly soluble and non-dissolved active compounds are tested [6]. The reason for this is that the recommended test setup of Franz diffusion cells requires an acceptor medium that provides sink conditions for the test compound.…”

“…For a correct test setup, the acceptor medium needs to be in close contact with the test membrane to allow for a non-hindered diffusion of the active compounds through the membrane into the acceptor medium. Recent studies have now demonstrated that the acceptor medium can also penetrate into the test membrane [6]. In these cases, the acceptor medium is soaked in the test membrane, and thus the formulation that is applied onto the test membrane or skin will also come into direct contact with the acceptor medium.…”

“…In these cases, the acceptor medium is soaked in the test membrane, and thus the formulation that is applied onto the test membrane or skin will also come into direct contact with the acceptor medium. If non-dissolved active compounds come into contact with this acceptor medium-soaked membrane, they will dissolve and quickly penetrate through the test membrane/skin, leading to results that suggest good permeability of the test compound [6]. In a physiological setup, i.e., skin in its original state, the skin is not soaked with solvents and thus non-dissolved active compounds will possess different dissolution behaviors than in the Franz diffusion setup.…”

Physicochemical Characteristics of Chitosan-Based Hydrogels Containing Albumin Particles and Aloe vera Juice as Transdermal Systems Functionalized in the Viewpoint of Potential Biomedical Applications

“…Such a procedure is repeated several times until the desired drug concentration is achieved. Then, the films obtained are ready to be used as transdermal plasters [ 14 ].…”

High-Payload Buccal Delivery System of Amorphous Curcumin–Chitosan Nanoparticle Complex in Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose and Starch Films

“…Thereby, low systemic bioavailability persists [25]. For this reason, parenteral delivery routes of CUR that can be easily administered by the patients themselves, such as transdermal [26][27][28] and buccal [29][30][31] routes, have been explored. Even though the transdermal and buccal delivery routes of CUR can circumvent its gut metabolism issue, the systemic bioavailability remains poor if the native form of CUR is used due to the low solubility of native CUR in the plasma fluid.…”