Innovative nanotherapy for the treatment of the chronic skin condition, rosacea. (P3259)

Abstract

Abstract A chronic skin disorder called Rosacea is primarily characterized by inflammation associated with abnormal innate immune response and the current treatments include oral and topical antibiotics and antimicrobials. CD163 plays a key role in etiology of Rosacea and a combination targeted nanotherapy which includes an topical antibiotic such as doxycycline, an anti-microbial such as Azelaic acid and the anti CD163 antibody would be an effective therapy for Rosacea. We developed a nanoemulsion for the treatment of Rosacea using fluorophores called nanophosphors which are upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), that have the ability to convert near infrared radiations with lower energy into visible radiations with higher energy via a nonlinear optical process and exhibit unique luminescent properties, including high penetration depth into tissues. Our goal was to evaluate the transdermal delivery of this nanoemulsion using an in-vitro skin barrier model (EpiDerm™). Dermal permeability coefficient is calculated and drug concentrations are determined by HPLC. Our results show a significantly higher 72% increase (p<0.01) in uptake of this nanoemulsion by dermal keratinocytes and fibroblasts and deeper penetration into the skin layers as compared to topical application of the antibiotic and/or antimicrobial alone. Although, this nanoformulation is specific to the treatment of Rosacea, this nano-therapeutic approach can be applied to other skin disorders.