Abstract
Zinc pyrithione (ZnPT) is an anti-fungal drug delivered as a microparticle to skin epithelia. It is one of the most widely used ingredients worldwide in medicated shampoo for treating dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis (SD), a disorder with symptoms that include skin flaking, erythema and pruritus. SD is a multi-factorial disease driven by microbiol dysbiosis, primarily involving Malassezia yeast. Anti-fungal activity of ZnPT depends on the cutaneous availability of bioactive monomeric molecular species, occurring upon particle dissolution. The success of ZnPT as a topical therapeutic is underscored by the way it balances treatment efficacy with formulation safety. This review demonstrates how ZnPT achieves this balance, by integrating the current understanding of SD pathogenesis with an up-to-date analysis of ZnPT pharmacology, therapeutics and toxicology. ZnPT has anti-fungal activity with an average in vitro minimum inhibitory concentration of 10–15 ppm against the most abundant scalp skin Malassezia species (Malassezia globosa and Malassezia restrica). Efficacy is dependent on the targeted delivery of ZnPT to the skin sites where these yeasts reside, including the scalp surface and hair follicle infundibulum. Imaging and quantitative analysis tools have been fundamental for critically evaluating the therapeutic performance and safety of topical ZnPT formulations. Toxicologic investigations have focused on understanding the risk of local and systemic adverse effects following exposure from percutaneous penetration. Future research is expected to yield further advances in ZnPT formulations for SD and also include re-purposing towards a range of other dermatologic applications, which is likely to have significant clinical impact.
Highlights
Zinc pyrithione (ZnPT) is a widely used anti-fungal ingredient in shampoo indicated for treating the symptoms of seborrheic dermatitis (SD) and dandruff
These by-products can partition into the stratum corneum, disrupt normal lipid bilayer structure [40,70] and trigger an irritation response that over time is believed to result in a pattern of structural, functional and clinical features consistent with dandruff and SD [71,72]
Chemical specificity is an advantage of Raman microscopy, which relies on detecting the Raman scattering of a sample after infrared excitation to determine molecular vibrational modes [133]
Summary
Zinc pyrithione (ZnPT) is a widely used anti-fungal ingredient in shampoo indicated for treating the symptoms of seborrheic dermatitis (SD) and dandruff It has led a profitable history within the personal care industry, demonstrating how ongoing research efforts are improving topical formulation for the consumer market. ZnPT was first synthesized during an anti-microbial screening program in the 1950s, originally established for agricultural purposes [9], and has remained a key commercial ingredient in the haircare industry since the 1960s after it was identified as a candidate anti-dandruff agent [10] It is the most popular anti-dandruff ingredient, listed in over 100 different topical products across multiple countries [11], at concentrations up to 2% w/v in rinse-off formulations [12]. This review will explore the interactions of ZnPT with skin epithelia, imperative for both therapeutic efficacy and safety
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