Novel (Trans)dermal Drug Delivery Strategies Micro- and Nano-scale Assessments [Hardcover]

This work represents an inventive attempt to apply recent advances innanotechnology to identify and characterise novel polymer systems fordrug delivery through the skin. Atomicforce microscopy (AFM) measurements of the nanoscale mechanicalproperties of topical, drug-containing polymeric films enabled theauthor to identify optimal compositions, in terms of flexibility andsubstantivity, for application to the skin. To elucidatethe enhanced drug release from polyacrylate films incorporating mediumchain triglycerides, the author combined AFM studies with thecomplementary technique of Raman micro-spectroscopy. This experimentalstrategy revealed that the significant increase in thedrug released from these films is the result of a nanoscale two-phasestructure. Finally, in experiments examining the microporation of skinusing femtosecond laser ablation, the author demonstrated that thethreshold at which the skin's barrier functionis undermined can be dramatically reduced by the pre-application ofink. The approach allows thermal damage at the pore edge to beminimised, suggesting a very real potential for substantially increasingdrug delivery in a minimally invasive fashion.

Introduction.-Background.- Methodology.- TEC Plasticization of Topical Polymeric  Films.- Lipid Incorporation into Topical PolymericFilms.- Laser Microporation of Skin.- Conclusion.

HazelGarvie-Cook received her M.Phys degree in Physics from DurhamUniversity in 2011 and a PhD in (trans)dermal drug deliverystrategies from the University of Bath in 2014. Since finishing herPhD, she has stayed on at the University of Bath as a ResearchAssociate in the Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology. Herresearch interests include imaging techniques for investigating drugdelivery to the skin and the changes in topical formulationspost-application.

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