Molecular mechanism of the skin permeation enhancing effect of ethanol: a molecular dynamics study.

ABSTRACT: Ethanol is widely used in various pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations in order to enhance skin penetration of active ingredients. While it is well known that ethanol partitions into the skin and enhances the permeation of both polar and nonpolar molecules, the exact mechanisms by which it enhances skin permeability are not fully understood. Several mechanisms have been proposed including lipid extraction from the stratum corneum (SC), fluidisation of SC lipid bilayer, alteration of SC protein conformation and enhancement of the drug solubility in the SC lipids. In this study, we performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of SC lipid bilayers comprised of an equimolar mixture of ceramides, cholesterol and free fatty acid in the presence of aqueous mixtures of ethanol. Various unrest

SUBMITTER: Gupta R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9050718 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature