Prediction of skin permeation by chemical compounds using the artificial membrane, Strat-M™

Purpose: The usefulness of the synthetic membrane, Strat-M (TM) as an alternative to human and animal skins was evaluated by estimating the skin permeabilities of chemical compounds. Method: Thirteen chemical compounds with molecular weights (M.W.) of 152-289 and lipophilicities (log K-o/w) of -0.9 to 3.5 were selected. Strat-M (TM), excised human skin, or hairless rat skin was set in a Franz-type diffusion cell and a saturated solution of each chemical compound was applied to determine membrane permeation profiles. The obtained permeability coefficients (log P) were compared among these membranes. Results and discussion: Elevations were observed in log P for Strat-M (TM) with an increase in the log K-o/w, of the applied compounds, and similar results were observed with the human and hairless rat skins. A correlation was obtained in log P values between Strat-M (TM) and human or hairless rat skin. Furthermore, the diffusion and partition parameters of chemicals in Strat-M (TM) were similar to those in the excised human and rat skins. These results suggest that Strat-M (TM) could be used as an alternative to animal or human skin in permeation studies. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.