Cristales líquidos liotrópicos. Nanoestructuras biomiméticas para uso tópico medicinal

Abstract

Skin is the largest human organ, highlighting its barrier activity, covering protection to temperature variations and radiation, as well as the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms and organic or inorganic compounds capable of producing cutaneous or systemic diseases. Its wide surface also represents enormous potential for the administration of various substances with local and systemic purposes; hence the current trend in pharmaceutical technology and nanotechnology to design innovative systems for topical and transdermal use, mimicking skin components which seeks to increase the ability to deliver drugs and biomolecules with greater efficacy and safety than that represented by other routes and current dosage forms.

This article outlines the progress in the knowledge of the structure and function of skin barrier, highlighting the mesophase composition and properties of the intercellular lipids that control the diffusion of molecules through the epidermis; reason why are concerning topical medications bioinspired in dermal properties and its structures, such as lyotropic liquid crystals and their dispersions as cubosomes and hexosomes.