Evaluation of the permeability of hair growing ingredient encapsulated PLGA nanospheres to hair follicles and their hair growing effects

Abstract

This paper describes the process of encapsulating hair growing ingredients in the PLGA nanospheres by emulsion solvent diffusion method and investigates the feasibility of using the PLGA nanospheres as the DDS (Drug delivery System) carriers for delivering various hair growing ingredients to hair follicles. In-vitro and in-vivo tests were conducted to verify the performances of encapsulated PLGA nanospheres with three different hair growing ingredients. In the in-vitro tests, the scalp-pore permeability of hair growing ingredient encapsulated PLGA nanospheres (dispersed in the PBS solution) was examined using human scalp biopsies in a modified Bronaugh diffusion chamber in comparison to that of the control samples containing the hair growing ingredient in the PBS solution. Furthermore, the hair growing effect of the encapsulated PLGA nanospheres was evaluated with the C3H mice in the in-vivo tests. By observing the fluorescence intensity of the ingredients, as shown in the cross-section photographs of the human scalp biopsies, it was found that the dispersion liquids containing hair growing ingredient encapsulated PLGA nanospheres exerted a scalp-pore permeability 2.0- to 2.5-fold more marked than that of the control samples. Also, the hair growing activities were enhanced by using the encapsulated PLGA nanospheres, which transformed the hair growth cycle from the resting phase to the growing phase. As a result, the degree of hair growth was improved significantly. These results suggested that the PLGA nanosphere can be a new DDS carrier for delivering hair growing ingredients and drugs to the hair follicles.