Supra-amphiphilic based meglumine as a strategy for modulating interactions with skin: a new approach for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases

Abstract

The skin is a complex biological interface and the stratum conium considered the main limiting barrier to percutaneous absorption of drugs. In pathological conditions, such as inflammatory diseases, the structure of the barrier can be altered significantly, making the proposition of topicaldelivery systems difficult. It is therefore necessary to develop new strategies that are able to modulating the interaction between the delivery system and the skin, aiming to the location of the drug at therapeutic concentrations in the deep layers of the skin, without falling into the bloodstream. The Supramolecular Chemistry is based on a number of concepts related to the physicochemical basis of non-covalent forces for creation of functional supramolecular assemblies. Through such knowledge it would be possible to manipulate variables intrinsic to the deliverysystem that are important in the interaction process with the skin, such as for example bioadhesive strength. In this project, our goal is to investigate the feasibility of using supramolecular chemistry as an intellectual strategy for the development of delivery systems whose properties of interaction with the skin is likely to be modulated. For that, Meglumine-based supra-amphiphilic systems will be developed and evaluated in relation to their bioadhesive properties of interaction with skin. The drug candidate will be used as a model molecule for a possible application to skin inflammatory diseases, in view that these are a class of highly complex pathologies that significantly alter the biophysicochemical properties of the skin barrier.