In vitro analysis of the effect of alkyl-chain length of anionic surfactants on the skin by using a reconstructed human epidermal model.

Abstract

We investigated the effect of the alkyl-chain length of anionic surfactants on the skin using an in vitro model. The evaluated anionic surfactants were sodium alkyl sulfate (AS) and sodium fatty acid methyl ester sulfonate (MES), which had different alkyl-chain lengths (C8-C14). Skin tissue damage and permeability were examined using a reconstructed human epidermal model, LabCyte EPI-MODEL24. Skin tissue damage was examined by measuring cytotoxicity with an MTT assay. Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) were used to detect surfactants that permeated into the assay medium through an epidermal model. To assess the permeation mechanism and cell damage caused by the surfactants through the epidermis, we evaluated the structural changes of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA), used as a simple model protein, and the fluidity of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphpcholine (DPPC) liposome, which serves as one of the most abundant phospholipid models of living cell membranes in the epidermis. The effects of the surfactants on the proteins were measured using Circular Dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, while the effects on membrane fluidity were investigated by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. ET50 (the 50% median effective time) increased as follows: C10 < C12 < C8 < C14 in AS and C8, C10 < C12 < C14 in MES. The order of permeation through the LabCyte EPI-MODEL24 was C10 > C12 > C14, for both AS and MES. For both AS and MES, the order parameter, which is the criteria for the microscopic viscosity of lipid bilayers, increased as follows: C10 < C12 < C14, which means the membrane fluidity is C10 > C12 > C14. It was determined that the difference in skin tissue damage in the LabCyte EPI-MODEL24 with C10 to C14 AS and MES was caused by the difference in permeation and cell membrane fluidity through the lipid bilayer path in the epidermis.