Autoradiographic Verification of Transdermal Penetration of Oleic Acid-conjugated Peptide Nanosomes

Abstract

Short peptides are potentially effective materials as cosmeceuticals, but their delivery across the skin can be problematic due to the ionic nature of peptides and the structure of the skin. For short peptide to be utilized as cosmeceuticals, its ability to penetrate the skin must be altered. In this study, we conjugated the widely used procollagen type I signal peptide, KTTKS, with oleic acid to improve the lipophilic properties of the peptide, and used the oleic acid-conjugated peptides to construct cosmeceutical nanosomes. Then we examined the penetration of cosmeceutical nanosomes prepared from isotope-labeled peptide into the skin after transdermal application using autoradiography. Because of its hydrophilic property of penta-peptide, the penta-peptide itself was not able to be penetrated through the stratum corneum of the skin. In contrast, nanosomes made from olecic acid conjugated penta-peptide were able to be penetrated through the stratum corneum effectively. Autoradiography showed the precise penetration points to dermal layer, demonstrating the appropriateness of this method for clarifying the mechanism of penetration of transdermal delivery systems.