Microfluidic formation of nanoscale liposomes for passive transdermal drug delivery

Abstract

In this work, the established technique for microfluidic synthesis of nanoscale liposomes of tunable size has been exploited for preclinical studies investigating the ability of small liposomes to passively cross through dermal layers for transdermal drug delivery. Topical application of therapeutics provides an avenue for painless, noninvasive delivery of molecules aimed at a range of clinical conditions. Unlike traditional methods, which yield polydisperse liposomes too large to traverse dermal layers (typically >80 nm), the microfluidic method enables the first investigation of nearly-monodisperse liposomes which are within the size range of interest (approximately 40 nm and below) for passive transdermal drug delivery. Here, the microfluidic method for liposome production has been utilized to generate small, nearly-monodisperse liposomes and demonstrated size-dependent passive uptake into porcine dermal tissue.