Study summary · research use only
Topical delivery of acetyl hexapeptide-8 from different emulsions: influence of emulsion composition and internal structure
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
In this study, the authors investigated how emulsion vehicle type influences skin delivery of acetyl hexapeptide-8 (AH-8), a component of anti-aging products explored as a topical treatment for blepharospasm. Using Franz-type diffusion cells and in vitro tape stripping on porcine ear skin with LC-MS/MS quantification, the abstract reports that a multiple water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsion significantly increased AH-8 penetration into porcine skin compared with simple oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions, and that water-rich W/O/W and O/W emulsions were superior to an oil-rich W/O emulsion for dermal delivery. It attributes the enhanced delivery to increased absorption of the water-rich emulsions, confirmed by ATR-FTIR and tape stripping.
Abstract
Acetyl hexapeptide-8 (AH-8) is a well-known component of anti-aging products and was recently explored as a promising topical treatment of blepharospasm. Although AH-8 appears in a variety of cosmetic products, its skin penetration is sparsely studied and controversially discussed. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of the vehicle type on the AH-8 delivery to the skin. Besides skin permeation experiments with Franz type diffusion cells, the spatial distribution of AH-8 in the stratum corneum after a real in-use application was investigated by in vitro tape stripping on porcine ear skin. By applying LC-MS/MS for quantification of AH-8, we demonstrated that a multiple water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsion can significantly increase penetration of AH-8 into porcine skin compared to simple O/W and W/O emulsions. The internal structure of the developed multiple emulsion was confirmed by electron microscopic investigations and NMR self diffusion studies. In general, a clear superiority of water-rich W/O/W and O/W emulsions over an oil-rich W/O emulsion in terms of dermal delivery of AH-8 was found. This enhanced delivery of AH-8 could be explained by an increased absorption of the water-rich emulsions into the skin, confirmed by combined ATR-FTIR and tape stripping experiments.
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