Abstract
Anionic surfactants are commonly used as detergents and emulsifiers. However, these compounds are potent skin irritants. In this study, we evaluated the effect of the alkyl structure of anionic surfactants on the skin barrier function using the transmission index (TI) method. The TI method is used to measure the skin penetration rate of drugs. Sodium soaps of C18 fatty acids with different structures were evaluated. Sodium laurate was used as the control. In addition, microscopic observations of the skin tissue treated with different soaps and controls were performed to study the mechanism of skin permeation. Results showed that unsaturated fatty acid soaps exerted the most potent effect on the skin barrier function and saturated fatty acid soaps exerted the least effect; saturated branched fatty acid soap had an intermediate effect. This could be attributed to the differences in the melting points of different fatty acids. In addition, unlike lauric acid soap, C18 fatty acid soap did not cause morphological changes in the skin tissue. Thus, differences in the alkyl structure of fatty acids resulted in differences in the effect of fatty acid soaps on the skin barrier function. The mechanism was presumed to be an effect on intercellular lipids.
Highlights
Saponified fatty acids are common anionic surfactants that are widely used as detergents and emulsifiers
The investigation of the effect of the C18 alkyl anionic surfactants on the skin barrier function showed that the alkyl structures of anionic surfactant was a strong efficient factor for skin barrier function
Based on structural chemistry considerations, we noticed a correlation between the Kraft points and the C18 fatty acid soaps with different structures
Summary
Saponified fatty acids (soaps) are common anionic surfactants that are widely used as detergents and emulsifiers. Lauric acid soap is often used as a body cleanser, shampoo, dishwashing detergent, and laundry detergent, owing to its good foaming capacity and strong detergency. Surfactants have been reported to affect the skin barrier function [1,2,3]. The skin barrier consists of keratin proteins and intercellular lipids. A cytoskeletal protein, is composed of a group of intermediate filaments composed of keratinocytes, which are differentiated and enucleated epidermal cells. Intercellular lipids have a lamellar structure in which the lipid molecules, mainly composed of ceramide, fatty acids, and cholesterol esters, are regularly arranged
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