Thermodynamically Stable Ionic Liquid Microemulsions for Topical Delivery and Peptide Application

    November 2023 in “ Bioactive materials
    Tianqi Liu, Ying Li, Xin Zhao, Liguo Zhang, Wei Wang, De Bai, Yanling Liao, Zhenyuan Wang, Mi Wang, Jiaheng Zhang
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    TLDR New method improves copper peptide delivery for hair growth three times better than current options.
    The study introduces a new method for the topical delivery of copper peptides (GHK-Cu), known for promoting hair growth, using a thermodynamically stable ionic liquid-based microemulsion (IL-M). The IL-M system, which combines the high drug solubility of ionic liquids with the high skin permeability of microemulsions, was found to improve the local delivery of copper peptides by approximately three-fold while preserving their biological function. The system was tested on mice and found to increase the expression of growth factors and activate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, which is involved in hair growth regulation. The IL-M system, named CaT-ME, was found to be stable, biocompatible, and effective in delivering copper peptides, with the permeated amount of copper peptides being 3.18-fold higher than that of the control group. It also significantly increased hair density in mice by stimulating hair follicle cells to secrete VEGF and HGF, promoting growth factor expression and hair growth. The system outperformed commercially available minoxidil in animal experiments.
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