Advanced Inorganic Nanosystems for Skin Drug Delivery

Abstract

On/into/through the skin drug delivery represents an attractive alternative for the oral route, providing local and/or systemic drug delivery. Due to its complex and well-organised structure, most of the drugs show difficulties to penetrate the human skin. Therefore, enormous efforts have been invested to develop intelligent drug delivery systems overcoming the skin barrier with particular emphasis on increasing therapeutic activity and minimizing undesirable side-effects. Most of these strategies require the use of singular materials with new properties. In particular, and on the basis of their inherent properties, including biocompatibility, biodegradability and relative low-cost, inorganic nanoparticles are ideal candidates for the development of skin drug delivery systems. This review provides an updated and comprehensive overview of the state of the art in the trends towards skin drug delivery with a particular focus in the attractive alternative offered by inorganic-based nanosystems.

<p>Potential of Nanoparticles as Permeation Enhancers and Targeted Delivery Options for Skin: Advantages and Disadvantages</p>

“…It has a protective function against a harsh environment and could regulate body temperature by controlling the amount of water and heat loss from the body. 1 Furthermore, skin acts as a very strong barrier toward many drugs administered via topical route. Stratum corneum is the strongest barrier in the skin which is most responsible for limiting drug penetration through skin layers.…”

Preferential Accumulation of Phospholipid-PEG and Cholesterol-PEG Decorated Gold Nanorods into Human Skin Layers and Their Photothermal-Based Antibacterial Activity

“…Skin is considered as the ideal site for non-invasive skin therapeutic platforms 1,2 . Stratum corneum (SC) consists of proteins and lipid matrix and limits the penetration of the topically applied drugs 3–5 .…”

<p>Magnetic And pH Dual-Responsive Nanoparticles For Synergistic Drug-Resistant Breast Cancer Chemo/Photodynamic Therapy</p>

“…An effective drug delivery system with strong drug-loading ability, controlled drug release, and tumor targeting is the key success factors of combination therapy 11–13. Nano-scaled carriers including micelles,14 liposomes,15 and inorganic nanoparticles,16 which have been proved that it could increase the delivery efficiency and reduce the side effects of chemotherapy drugs, would be a good cooperative therapy for cancer treatments 17. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) show unique characteristics, such as large pore volumes and surface areas, tunable pore diameters and sizes, easy functionalization, robustness, and good biocompatibility 18–20.…”