Effect of nanoparticles on transdermal drug delivery.

The purpose of the present study was to assess by in vitro means the effect of poly (methylmethacrylate) nanoparticles and poly (butylcyanoacrylate) nanoparticles on transdermal drug delivery. Methanol and octanol were chosen as test permeants. In order to distinguish between thermodynamic effect and those due to biological consequences, two different membranes were employed, i.e., full thickness hairless mouse skin and silicone elastomer sheeting (175 microns). It is evident that poly (methylmethacrylate) nanoparticles and poly (butylcyanoacrylate) nanoparticles increase the permeability of methanol through hairless mouse skin by a factor of 1.2-2. The permeability of lipophilic octanol is either unaffected by nanoparticles or decreases as a function of nanoparticle concentration depending on the lipophilicity of the polymer material.