Alexandr Hrabálek

Amphiphilic transdermal permeation enhancers: structure-activity relationships.

Transdermal drug delivery offers numerous advantages over conventional routes of administration; however, poor permeation of most drugs across the skin barrier constitutes a serious limitation of this methodology. One of the approaches used to enlarge the number of transdermally-applicable drugs uses permeation enhancers. These compounds promote drug permeation through the skin by a reversible decrease of the barrier resistance. Enhancers can act on the stratum corneum intracellular keratin, influence desmosomes, modify the intercellular lipid domains or alter the solvent nature of the stratum corneum. Even though, hundreds of substances have been identified as permeation enhancers to date, yet our understanding of the structure-activity relationships is limited. In general, enhancers can be divided into two large groups: small polar solvents, e.g. ethanol, propylene glycol, dimethylsulfoxide and amphiphilic compounds containing a polar head and a hydrophobic chain, e.g. fatty acids and alcohols, 1-dodecylazepan-2-one (Azone), 2-nonyl-1,3-dioxolane (SEPA 009), and dodecyl-2-dimethylaminopropanoate (DDAIP). In this review we have focused on structure-activity relationships of amphiphilic permeation enhancers, including the properties of the hydrophobic chains, e.g. length, unsaturation, and branching, as well as the polar heads characteristics, e.g. hydrogen bonding ability, lipophilicity, and size. We present over 180 examples of enhancers with different polar head to illustrate the structural requirements and the possible role of the polar head. We have given an overview of the methods used for investigation of the mechanisms of permeation enhancement, namely differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and future perspectives in this field. Furthermore, biodegradability and chirality of the enhancers are discussed.

Effect of ceramide acyl chain length on skin permeability and thermotropic phase behavior of model stratum corneum lipid membranes

Stratum corneum ceramides play an essential role in the barrier properties of skin. However, their structure-activity relationships are poorly understood. We investigated the effects of acyl chain length in the non-hydroxy acyl sphingosine type (NS) ceramides on the skin permeability and their thermotropic phase behavior. Neither the long- to medium-chain ceramides (8-24 C) nor free sphingosine produced any changes of the skin barrier function. In contrast, the short-chain ceramides decreased skin electrical impedance and increased skin permeability for two marker drugs, theophylline and indomethacin, with maxima in the 4-6C acyl ceramides. The thermotropic phase behavior of pure ceramides and model stratum corneum lipid membranes composed of ceramide/lignoceric acid/cholesterol/cholesterol sulfate was studied by differential scanning calorimetry and infrared spectroscopy. Differences in thermotropic phase behavior of these lipids were found: those ceramides that had the greatest impact on the skin barrier properties displayed the lowest phase transitions and formed the least dense model stratum corneum lipid membranes at 32°C. In conclusion, the long hydrophobic chains in the NS-type ceramides are essential for maintaining the skin barrier function. However, this ability is not shared by their short-chain counterparts despite their having the same polar head structure and hydrogen bonding ability.

Ceramides in the skin lipid membranes: length matters.

Ceramides are essential constituents of the skin barrier that allow humans to live on dry land. Reduced levels of ceramides have been associated with skin diseases, e.g., atopic dermatitis. However, the structural requirements and mechanisms of action of ceramides are not fully understood. Here, we report the effects of ceramide acyl chain length on the permeabilities and biophysics of lipid membranes composed of ceramides (or free sphingosine), fatty acids, cholesterol, and cholesterol sulfate. Short-chain ceramides increased the permeability of the lipid membranes compared to a long-chain ceramide with maxima at 4-6 carbons in the acyl. By a combination of differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Langmuir monolayers, and atomic force microscopy, we found that the reason for this effect in short ceramides was a lower proportion of tight orthorhombic packing and phase separation of continuous short ceramide-enriched domains with shorter lamellar periodicity compared to native long ceramides. Thus, long acyl chains in ceramides are essential for the formation of tightly packed impermeable lipid lamellae. Moreover, the model skin lipid membranes are a valuable tool to study the relationships between the lipid structure and composition, lipid organization, and the membrane permeability.

Short-Chain Ceramides Decrease Skin Barrier Properties

Stratum corneum ceramides are major determinants of skin barrier function. Although their physiological and pathological role has been widely investigated, to date no structure-activity relationships have been established. In this study, a series of short-chain ceramide analogues with polar head structure identical to ceramide NS, a sphingosine length of 12 carbons and an acyl chain length of 2–12 carbons was synthesized. Their effect on skin permeability was evaluated using porcine skin and two model drugs, theophylline and indomethacin, and compared to that of a physiological ceramide NS. The results showed that the ceramide chain length was crucial for their barrier properties. Ceramides with a 4- to 8-carbon acyl chain were able to increase skin permeability for both drugs up to 10.8 times with maximum effect at a 6-carbon acyl chain. No increase in permeability was found for ceramide analogues with 2- and 12-carbon acyl chains and ceramide NS. The same relationships were obtained for skin concentrations of the model drugs. The relationship between ceramide acyl chain length and its ability to perturb skin barrier showed striking similarity to the behavior of short-chain ceramides in sphingomyelin/phospholipid membranes and confirmed that short-chain ceramides do not act as natural ceramides and their use as experimental tools should be cautious.

Transdermal and dermal delivery of adefovir: Effects of pH and permeation enhancers

The objective of this work was to investigate feasibility of transdermal and dermal delivery of adefovir (9-(2-phosphonomethoxyethyl)adenine), a broad-spectrum antiviral from the class of acyclic nucleoside phosphonates. Transport of 2% adefovir through and into porcine skin and effects of various solvents, pH, and permeation enhancers were studied in vitro using Franz diffusion cell. From aqueous donor samples, adefovir flux through the skin was 0.2-5.4 microg/cm2/h with greatest permeation rate at pH 7.8. The corresponding adefovir skin concentrations reached values of 120-350 microg/g of tissue. Increased solvent lipophilicity resulted in higher skin concentration but had only minor effect on adefovir flux. A significant influence of counter ions on both transdermal and dermal transport of adefovir zwitterion was observed at pH 3.4. Permeation enhancer dodecanol was ineffective, 1-dodecylazepan-2-one (Azone) and dodecyl 2-(dimethylamino)propionate (DDAIP) showed moderate activity. The highest adefovir flux (11.3+/-3.6 microg/cm2/h) and skin concentration (1549+/-416 microg/g) were achieved with 1% Transkarbam 12 (5-(dodecyloxycarbonyl)pentylammonium 5-(dodecyloxycarbonyl)pentylcarbamate) at pH 4. This study suggests that, despite its hydrophilic and ionizable nature, adefovir can be successfully delivered through the skin.

Ceramide analogue 14S24 selectively recovers perturbed human skin barrier.

Background  Topical ceramide application is an effective therapeutic approach in skin disorders with disturbed barrier function, including atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.

l-Serine and glycine based ceramide analogues as transdermal permeation enhancers: polar head size and hydrogen bonding

Novel transdermal permeation enhancers related to stratum corneum ceramides were investigated. The synthesis of a series of simple compounds based on two selected amino acids, L-serine and glycine, and their enhancement activities are reported. Glycine derivative 3 enhanced the permeation of theophylline through human skin in vitro 12.5+/-0.5 times. The relationships between properties of the polar head of the compounds and their activity are discussed.

Synthesis of fluorescent C24-ceramide: Evidence for acyl chain length dependent differences in penetration of exogenous NBD-ceramides into human skin

Topical skin lipid supplementation may provide opportunities for controlling ceramide (Cer) deficiency in skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis or psoriasis. Here we describe the synthesis of a long-chain 7-nitrobenzo[c][1,2,5]oxadiazol-4-yl (NBD)-labeled Cer and its different penetration through human skin compared to widely used short-chain fluorescent Cer tools.

Tetrazoles: LI. Synthesis of 5-substituted tetrazoles under microwave activation

Reaction of nitriles with sodium azide in the presence of ZnCl2 under microwave activation (MWA) leads to the formation of 5-tetrazoles in high yields; therewith the process is 2–3 times shorter than the inactivated reaction.

1-Substituted-5-[(3,5-dinitrobenzyl)sulfanyl]-1H-tetrazoles and their isosteric analogs: A new class of selective antitubercular agents active against drug-susceptible and multidrug-resistant mycobacteria

In this work, a new class of highly potent antituberculosis agents, 1-substituted-5-[(3,5-dinitrobenzyl)sulfanyl]-1H-tetrazoles and their oxa and selanyl analogs, is described. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values reached 1 μM (0.36-0.44 μg/mL) against Mycobacterium tuberculosis CNCTC My 331/88 and 0.25-1 μM against six multidrug-resistant clinically isolated strains of M. tuberculosis. The antimycobacterial effects of these compounds were highly specific because they were ineffective against all eight bacterial strains and eight fungal strains studied. Furthermore, these compounds exhibited low in vitro toxicity in four mammalian cell lines (IC50 > 30 μM). We also examined the structure-activity relationships of the compounds, particularly the effects on antimycobacterial activity of the number and position of the nitro groups, the linker between tetrazole and benzyl moieties, and the tetrazole itself. Relatively high variability of substituent R(1) on the tetrazole in the absence of negative effects on antimycobacterial activity allows further structural optimization with respect to toxicity and the ADME properties of the 1-substituted-5-[(3,5-dinitrobenzyl)sulfanyl]-1H-tetrazoles lead compounds.