An Investigation into the Transdermal Behavior of Active Ingredients by Combination of Experiments and Multiscale Simulations

Transdermal behavior is a critical aspect of studying delivery systems and evaluating the efficacy of cosmetics. However, existing methods face challenges such as lengthy experiments, high cost, and limited model accuracy. Therefore, developing accurate transdermal models is essential for formulation development and effectiveness assessment. In this study, we developed a multiscale model to describe the transdermal behavior of active ingredients in the stratum corneum. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to construct lipid bilayers and determine the diffusion coefficients of active ingredients in different regions of these bilayers. These diffusion coefficients were integrated into a multilayer lipid pathway model using finite element simulations. The simulation results were in close agreement with our experimental results for three active ingredients (mandelic acid (MAN), nicotinamide (NIC), and pyruvic acid (PYR)), demonstrating the effectiveness of our multiscale model. This research provides valuable insights for advancing transdermal delivery methods.