Cutaneous delivery

Delivering low molecular drugs, peptides and proteins into and across the skin¶

• We develop formulations and use physical enhancement techniques to increase the rate and extent of local and systemic drug bioavailability.
• For dermatologic applications, we have developed sophisticated methods to determine the cutaneous biodistribution of drugs so that we know how much drug is present as a function of position in the skin.
• We have explored how polymeric micelle formulations can increase and preferentially target delivery to the epidermis and dermis for dermatologic indications.
• An important area of research concerns iontophoresis, which employs a small electric potential to increase the rate of transport of polar and charged species across the skin. The current intensity and duration of current application determine the rate and extent of delivery. Iontophoresis provides tightly controlled drug delivery and as such is well-suited to the administration of peptides, and low molecular weight therapeutics whose pharmacological effects depend on their input kinetics. In recent years, we have also demonstrated how the technique can be used for the non-invasive delivery of proteins.
• We have extensively studied how fractional laser ablation can increase both topical and transdermal drug delivery of therapeutic agents with a particular emphasis on the potential for the local delivery of therapeutic antibodies and even cells.