Study of the potential of stratum corneum lipids and exogenous molecules interaction by fluorescence spectroscopy for the estimation of percutaneous penetration

Abstract

Considering that the skin barrier properties are closely linked to the ceramides composition and conformation within the SC, our work focused on developing a new evaluation criterion in complement of the Log Pow and MW: lipids retentive role within the SC. We developed an in vitro model to study exogenous molecules (Mol) and SC lipids interaction by fluorescence spectroscopy. As ceramides do not fluoresce, fluorescence probes that emit a fluorescence signal in contact with lipidic chains were selected for the study. A protocol was developed based on the exogenous molecule (cosmetic actives) affinity for the SC lipids. A fluorescence criterion (ΔI) was calculated from our results and compared to ex vivo skin penetration measurements realized with a Franz cell device. Our results indicated that polarity seems to be very representative of the ceramide and exogenous molecule interaction for most of the molecules tested. However, the ΔI calculated highlighted the particular interaction of some exogenous molecules with ceramides and their skin distribution. This particular behavior was not initially possible to estimate with the Log Pow and MW. This work aimed to develop a new alternative method to enhance the percutaneous penetration estimation of exogenous molecules for the risk analysis.