Maintenance of skin viability during in vitro percutaneous absorption/metabolism studies

The assessment of cutaneous metabolism during in vitro percutaneous absorption studies requires maintenance of the viability of the skin section. With the use of flowthrough diffusion cells, Eagle's minimal essential medium (MEM), Hepes-buffered Hanks' balanced salt solution (HHBSS), or Dulbecco modified phosphate-buffered saline (DMPBS), acting as receptor fluids, were able to sustain aerobic and anaerobic glucose utilization, testosterone and estradiol metabolism, and histopathological appearance of perfused rat skin sections for 24 hr. Fetal bovine serum supplements were not required for survival and appeared to inhibit the extraction of the metabolite estrone from the receptor fluid fractions in estradiol absorption/metabolism experiments. The use of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) resulted in elimination of aerobic and anaerobic glucose utilization in 12 hr and declining appearance of steroid metabolites in receptor fluid fractions during the 24-hr percutaneous absorption/metabolism studies. Histopathological examination of skin sections perfused with PBS for 24 hr showed autolysis of the viable epidermis and dermis. The results demonstrate that an appropriate receptor fluid, such as MEM, HHBSS, or DMPBS, is required for percutaneous absorption studies in which cutaneous metabolism of the penetrating compound is to be considered.