A Molecular Interpretation on the Different Penetration Enhancement Effect of Borneol and Menthol towards 5-Fluorouracil.

ABSTRACT: Borneol and menthol are terpenes that are widely used as penetration enhancers in transdermal drug delivery. To explore their penetration-enhancement effects on hydrophilic drugs, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was selected as a model drug. An approach that combined in vitro permeation studies and coarse-grained molecular dynamics was used to investigate their penetration-enhancement effect on 5-FU. The results showed that although both borneol and menthol imparted penetration-enhancement effects on 5-FU, these differed in terms of their mechanism, which may account for the observed variations in penetration-enhancement effects. The main mechanism of action of menthol involves the disruption of the stratum corneum (SC) bilayer, whereas borneol involves multiple mechanisms, including the disruption

SUBMITTER: Wang R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5751346 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature