Understanding transfersomes’ structure to conquer (trans)dermal drug delivery

PI Catarina Pereira Leite

CBIOS team members

Catarina Rosado, Tânia Santos de Almeida, Ana Júlio, Cíntia Almeida
2022

Description

The development of ceramide-enriched transfersomes may be a valuable strategy for the topical management of inflammatory skin disorders, such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. The inflammatory cascade of these diseases leads to the reduction of the ceramide content of the stratum corneum, causing an increase in transepidermal water loss due to the disturbed barrier function. In this sense, ceramide-enriched transfersomes would repair the barrier function of the stratum corneum, as previously demonstrated for ceramide or pseudoceramide-enriched creams. Moreover, the encapsulation of anti-inflammatory drugs in these nanocarriers may improve their transdermal delivery, reducing the need for the systemic application of glucocorticoids with huge costs in terms of toxicity. Understanding the effects of adding ceramides and anti-inflammatory drugs to the bilayer structure of transfersomes is of utmost importance to rationally design these advanced vesicular systems. The main objective of this project is to describe, at a molecular level, the effect of functional excipients and bioactive compounds on the lipid bilayer structure of transfersomes. Various functional ingredients will be studied, namely EAs, ILs, and ceramides, as well as various bioactive compounds with anti-inflammatory properties (glucocorticoids and phytochemicals). These studies will be of upmost importance to optimize innovative transfersomal formulations for (trans)dermal applications.

Funding Entity

Reference: AV-2021085268