Transdermal administration of adenosine using microplasma and the examination of the effect of microplasma on stratum corneum using infrared spectroscopy

Abstract

The strong barrier established by stratum corneum serves a protective purpose. It also prevents pharmacological compounds from being delivered via the epidermal layer. Microplasma discharge was used to overcome the barrier of epidermal layer to permeate adenosine. Depth of the microplasma effect into the stratum corneum layer was evaluated using tape striping method and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform IR spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). Microplasma treatment caused increased permeability of stratum corneum lipids to a depth of several micrometers. The possible interaction between microplasma and stratum corneum lipids was studied on ceramide C4 by ATR-FTIR. Microplasma particles dominantly interacted with ceramide C4 at the bond between the NH and C=O causing possible dissociation and weakening of hydrogen bonding between molecules.