Methods for quantitative determination of drug localized in the skin

The quantification of drugs within the skin is essential for topical and transdermal delivery research. Over the last two decades, horizontal sectioning, consisting of both tape stripping and parallel slicing through the deeper tissues has constituted the traditional investigative technique. In recent years, this methodology has been augmented by such procedures as heat separation, qualitative autoradiography, isolation of the pilosebaceous units and the use of induced follicle-free skin. The development of skin quantitative autoradiography represents an entirely novel approach which permits quantification and visualization of the penetrant throughout a vertical cross-section of skin. Noninvasive strategies involve the application of optical measuring systems such as attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared, fluorescence, remittance or photothermal spectroscopies.