Permeability of Epidermal Layer of The Skin for Adenosine by Microplasma and Iontophoresis

Abstract

Epidermal layer of the skin, especially its upper layer called stratum corneum, is the main barrier to prevent foreign molecules from entering the body. However, the skin also represents a route for a drug delivery. Transdermal drug delivery has some advantages compared to other drug delivery techniques. Thus the risk of infection typical for injection delivery or metabolic changes of drug typical for oral delivery are eliminated. In the case of transdermal drug delivery, the skin barrier must be disturbed. There are several approaches how to disturb the barrier effect of stratum corneum such as electroporation, iontophoresis, sonophoresis or chemical enhancers. Using a plasma discharge for the improvement of the skin permeability is a relatively new a technique.