Media Release
July 5 2010
Nano-sand to revolutionise dermal drug delivery
A
team of researchers at the University
of South Australia have developed and patented new technology that
allows for enhanced delivery of cosmetics and drugs through the skin.
Dr Nasrin Ghouchi-Eskandar from UniSA’s
Ian Wark Research Institute
and her team are using nanoparticles of silica (essentially sand) to
create longer lasting creams and cosmetics that control the release of
drugs through specific layers of the skin.
The researchers are now seeking commercial partners to deliver the
technology to market.
Skin creams are made of emulsions – tiny droplets of oily compounds
dispersed in water, typically created using surfactants or detergents,
but Dr Ghouchi-Eskandar and her colleagues have developed emulsions in
which silica nanoparticles coat the droplets instead.
Dr Ghouchi-Eskandar says that the technology allows for greater control
over the delivery of drugs through the skin than current methods.
“Coating the tiny emulsion droplets with silica increases the stability
of the mixture, and makes it less likely that the active compounds
inside will degrade or be released until we want it to happen,” she
says. “These are two significant challenges for formulation scientists.”
“Using our method we found that, from a clinical point of view, drug
delivery can be improved by adjusting release through the thickness of
the coating. We can prepare both fast release, and slow or controlled
release delivery systems.”
Dr Ghouchi-Eskandar says that the technology is especially beneficial
when a drug needs to be released at a specific time, or if releasing too
much at once can lead to accumulation and toxic effects.
“It turns out that silica nanoparticles interact with skin cells in a
way that significantly increases the delivery of drugs to specific skin
layers,” she says.
“Using nanoparticles, a higher concentration for the active ingredient
is delivered and leakage into the bloodstream is limited. This is a
great advantage for skin creams like sunscreen, for instance. It limits
exposure of the rest of the body and any consequent toxicity.
“We have shown that nanoparticles will not pass through pig skin and in
the near future we will be moving to trials using human skin.”
Dr Ghouchi-Eskandar is one of 16 early-career scientists presenting
their research for the first time, supported by
Fresh Science, a national
program sponsored by the Australian Government.
Media contact
- Heather Leggett office (08) 8302 0096 mobile 0434 078 819 email heather.leggett@unisa.edu.au
Contact for interview
- Dr Nasrin Ghouchi-Eskandar mobile 0408 851 695 email Nasrin.ghouchi@postgrads.unisa.edu.au