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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 13, 2026

Visualizing and Quantifying Pharmaceutical Compounds within Skin using Coherent Raman Scattering Imaging

Visualizing and Quantifying Pharmaceutical Compounds within Skin using Coherent Raman Scattering Imaging

Published on: November 24, 2021

Skin penetration enhancers.

Majella E Lane¹

¹Department of Pharmaceutics, UCL School of Pharmacy, 29-39 Brunswick Square, London WC1 N 1AX, United Kingdom. majella.lane@btinternet.com

International Journal of Pharmaceutics

|March 7, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Chemical penetration enhancers (CPEs) help drugs cross the skin barrier. This review examines CPEs, their mechanisms, and their effects on skin transport, proposing a Diffusion-Partition-Solubility theory.

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Area of Science:

Dermatology
Pharmaceutics
Biophysics

Background:

The skin acts as a crucial barrier against water loss and xenobiotic entry.
Despite its barrier function, strategies exist for transdermal drug delivery.
Chemical penetration enhancers (CPEs) are key to overcoming skin's resistance to drug permeation.

Purpose of the Study:

To review various chemical penetration enhancers (CPEs) documented in scientific literature.
To explore potential mechanisms of CPE action in relation to skin transport.
To discuss the application of CPEs in topical and transdermal formulations.

Main Methods:

Literature review of scientific studies on CPEs.
Analysis of physical chemistry principles governing passive skin transport.
Focus on studies utilizing human and porcine skin models.
Examination of known mechanisms of action for CPEs.

Main Results:

CPEs facilitate drug permeation through the skin barrier via various pathways.
Human and porcine skin data are emphasized due to species-specific permeation differences.
The Diffusion-Partition-Solubility theory is proposed to explain CPE effects on skin.
Examples of commercially used enhancers are provided.

Conclusions:

CPEs significantly impact skin barrier function to enable drug delivery.
The proposed Diffusion-Partition-Solubility theory offers a framework for understanding CPE action.
Future research should consider the fate of both the enhancer and the active drug.