Water-responsive gel extends drug retention and facilitates skin penetration for curcumin topical delivery against psoriasis.

ABSTRACT: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by erythema, scaling, and skin thickening. Topical drug application is recommended as the first-line treatment. Many formulation strategies have been developed and explored for enhanced topical psoriasis treatment. However, these preparations usually have low viscosity and limited retention on the skin surface, resulting in low drug delivery efficiency and poor patient satisfaction. In this study, we developed the first water-responsive gel (WRG), which has a distinct water-triggered liquid-to-gel phase transition property. Specifically, WRG was kept in a solution state in the absence of water, and the addition of water induced an immediate phase transition and resulted in a high viscosity gel. Curcumin was used as a model drug

SUBMITTER: Yao Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9950530 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature