Skin absorption enhancers.

When we try to maximize drug flux through the skin, we usually meet major difficulties because of the impervious nature of the stratum corneum. A popular solution incorporates penetration enhancers into transdermal products. Such materials ideally possess the sole property of reversibly reducing the barrier resistance of the horny layer, allowing the drug to reach the living tissues at a greater rate. This article considers examples of accelerant action that support a general concept explaining enhancer activity in human skin. The core of the proposal is that enhancers usually work by one or more of three main mechanisms: alteration of the lipid or protein domains of the stratum corneum or increase in tissue partitioning of a drug, a coenhancer, water, or any combination of these three chemicals. We may usefully refer to the overall hypothesis as the lipid-protein-partitioning (LPP) concept.