Heat Enhanced Follicular Delivery of Isotretinoin to the Skin

In the 2019 study, researchers found that applying heat can significantly enhance the delivery of isotretinoin into the skin, especially through hair follicles, when combined with chemical penetration enhancers (CPEs). The study used Franz diffusion cells and a prototype heating system to apply isotretinoin to human skin, and found that heat increased drug flux by up to 25-fold depending on the vehicle used. The most notable increases in isotretinoin delivery were observed in the dermis and epidermis, with less impact on the stratum corneum, indicating that the follicular route was primarily enhanced. The study concluded that short durations of heat with CPEs are a promising strategy for improving isotretinoin delivery to the skin, which could optimize therapeutic effectiveness and reduce side effects. The study involved six repetitions for each treatment group and used 5-6 diffusion cells for each measurement.