ABSTRACT
Dermal and Transdermal Delivery........................................................................... 264
13.6 Concluding Remarks................................................................................................273
References .......................................................................................................................... 273
Dermal and transdermal delivery requires efficient penetration of compounds through the
skin barrier, the bilayer domains of intercellular lipid matrices, and keratin bundles in the
stratum corneum (SC). Lipid vesicular systems are a recognized mode of enhanced delivery of
drugs into and through the skin. However, it is noteworthy that not every lipid vesicular
system has the adequate characteristics to enhance skin membrane permeation. Specially
designed lipid vesicles in contrast to classic liposomal compositions could achieve this goal.
This chapter describes the structure, main physicochemical characteristics, and mechanism of
action of prominent vesicular carriers in this field and reviews reported data on their
enhanced delivery performance.
