Influence of Chemical Permeation Enhancers on the In Vitro Skin Permeation of Minoxidil Through Excised Rat Skin: A Mechanistic Study
January 2018
in “
Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
”
TLDR Urea, eucalyptus oil, and menthol improve minoxidil skin absorption.
The study investigated the effect of chemical permeation enhancers on the skin permeability of minoxidil using excised rat skin. Minoxidil, a treatment for androgenetic alopecia, typically shows low skin penetration. The research used urea, eucalyptus oil, and menthol as enhancers, finding that they increased the flux and diffusion coefficient of minoxidil by 1.86, 2.16, and 1.75 times, and 3.25, 1.34, and 2.16 folds, respectively, compared to hydrated skin. The study concluded that these enhancers improved minoxidil permeability by causing lipid fluidization, extraction, disruption of lipid structure, and irreversible protein denaturation in the skin's stratum corneum layer.