Squalene-Containing Nanostructured Lipid Carriers Promote Percutaneous Absorption and Hair Follicle Targeting of Diphencyprone for Treating Alopecia Areata

In the 2012 study, researchers explored the effectiveness of squalene-containing nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) in enhancing the delivery of Diphencyprone (DPCP) to hair follicles for the treatment of alopecia areata. The NLCs were formulated in different compositions and assessed for their size, zeta potential, and DPCP encapsulation efficiency. The study found that NLCs, particularly those with added soybean phosphatidylcholine (SPC), significantly improved the skin retention of DPCP, with the SPC-enhanced formulation achieving 275 µg/g skin retention and showing greater follicular deposition. Cationic NLCs were effectively internalized by keratinocytes, and in vivo studies confirmed higher skin retention of DPCP with SPC-enriched NLCs compared to free DPCP. Confocal imaging demonstrated the localization of NLCs in hair follicles, indicating that specific NLC formulations could be promising for improving DPCP absorption in alopecia areata treatment.