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Updated: Jun 20, 2026
06:47
Measuring Volatile and Non-volatile Antifungal Activity of Biocontrol Products
Published on: December 5, 2020
Experimental models in predicting topical antifungal efficacy: practical aspects and challenges.
1Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-0989, USA. jennifer_lai@nymc.edu
Skin Pharmacology and Physiology
|September 5, 2009
Summary
Developing effective topical antifungals requires ideal screening models. Pig skin shows promise as an in vitro model for topical antifungal testing due to its similarity to human skin, aiding drug development.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Pharmacology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Topical antifungal drug development necessitates efficient screening models.
- Current in vitro models face challenges in accurately predicting human efficacy.
- Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) are key parameters, but penetration kinetics and data transferability are critical.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate efficient screening models for topical antifungal agents.
- To identify an in vitro model that closely mimics human skin for antifungal efficacy testing.
- To assess the suitability of animal membranes for predicting topical antifungal performance.
Main Methods:
- Review and comparison of various in vitro animal membrane models for topical antifungal screening.
- Analysis of factors influencing topical antifungal efficacy, including penetration kinetics.
- Evaluation of data transferability from animal models to human skin.
Main Results:
- Pig skin exhibits anatomical, physiological, and permeation similarities to human skin.
- Pig and human skin demonstrate comparable permeability to several antifungals.
- The pig model shows potential as a suitable membrane for topical antifungal testing.
Conclusions:
- The pig is a promising animal model for in vitro topical antifungal testing.
- This model offers a practical alternative to human testing for novel antifungal agents.
- Further research into protocol design and parameters can optimize this model for antifungal drug discovery.
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