Alkyl Polyglucoside-based delivery systems: In vitro/in vivo skin absorption assessment

Skin permeation and penetration assessment is important not only for determining efficacy of a topical product, but also when comparing different formulations during development. This chapter reviews methods for dermal availability assessment of delivery systems, with their advantages and shortcomings, and examples of their practical application with Alkyl Polyglucoside-based preparations. Alkyl Polyglucosides are used in many different delivery systems with various model actives. Systems stabilized with Alkyl Polyglucoside surfactants provide highly satisfactory cutaneous delivery compared with reference samples. This is mainly attributed to the characteristic APG-based colloidal structure and its ability to provide a combined enhancing effect with co-solvents. Microemulsions for dermal/transdermal delivery are also becoming popular due to their high solubilization potential. Alkyl Polyglucoside surfactants are also being considered for development of nanosystems