In Vitro and In Vivo Skin Distribution of 5α-Reductase Inhibitors Loaded Into Liquid Crystalline Nanoparticles

The study explored the use of positively charged liquid crystalline nanoparticles (LCN) coated with chitosan (CHI) to improve the skin permeation and distribution of 5α-reductase inhibitors, finasteride (FNS) and dutasteride (DT), which are used to treat androgenetic alopecia. The CHI-LCNs showed significantly greater permeation than LCNs, with no significant difference in skin distribution. CHI-LCNs demonstrated higher fluorescence intensity throughout the skin layers and greater cellular uptake into human keratinocyte cells. The study concluded that chitosan surface modification of LCNs is a promising strategy for enhancing the topical delivery of 5α-reductase inhibitors, potentially offering a more effective treatment for hair loss with reduced systemic side effects. The specific number of participants or samples used in the in vivo and in vitro studies was not provided in the summary.