The use of an artificial skin model to study transdermal absorption of drugs in inflamed skin.

Studies on drug disposition in inflamed skin are important for safe and effective application of topical drugs. Here, the absorption of flurbiprofen (FP) through inflamed skin was examined in vivo and in a skin-mimicking artificial model system. The model skin system consisted of a silicone membrane acting as a model stratum corneum, laminated dialysis membranes acting as a model of viable skin, and 2 microdialysis probes-one used for determination of FP concentration and one acting as a model vessel. This model system could be used for quantitative evaluation of complicated permeation processes. In the in vivo experiments, FP absorption was suppressed in rats with inflamed skin induced by an intracutaneous injection of a mixed solution of λ-carrageenan, zymosan, and casein. Bovine serum albumin solution was placed between the dialysis membranes in the model skin system to mimic protein leaching in skin; the results suggested that the delayed absorption of FP in inflamed skin was due to binding to serum proteins leaching in the tissue. Such a combination of in vivo experiments and a model skin system is useful for understanding complex phenomena in inflamed and damaged skin and reduces experimental animal use.