Co-drug strategy for promoting skin targeting and minimizing the transdermal diffusion of hydroquinone and tranexamic acid

Pei Wen Hsieh, Wei Yu Chen, Ibrahim A. Aljuffali, Chun Che Chend, Jia You Fang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Hydroquinone and tranexamic acids (TXA) are skin-lightening agents with a hydrophilic nature and low skin absorption. A high dose is needed for clinical use, resulting in a high incidence of skin irritation. Co-drugs formed by conjugating hydroquinone and TXA were synthesized and their in vitro and in vivo skin absorption characteristics were evaluated. The two synthesized co-drugs were 4-hydroxyphenyl 4-(aminomethyl)cyclohexanecarboxylate (HAC) and 1,4-phenylene bis(aminomethyl)cyclohexanecarboxylate (BAC). The co-drugs were chemically stable in aqueous solution, but rapidly degraded to the respective parent drug in esterases and skin homogenates. Compared to hydroquinone application, 7.2- and 2.4-fold increments in the hydroquinone skin deposition were obtained with the in vitro application of HAC and BAC. HAC and BAC led to 3- and 2-fold enhancements of equivalent TXA deposition compared to TXA administration. The in vivo experiment showed a further enhancement of co-drugs compared to the in vitro setup. The transdermal penetration of co-drugs, especially BAC, was much lower than that of hydroquinone and TXA. This indicated high-level skin targeting by the co-drugs. HAC and BAC revealed strong affinities for the viable epidermis/dermis. Hair follicles are important reservoirs for co-drug delivery. Daily administration of co-drugs to the skin did not generate irritation for up to 7 days. Both co-drugs are superior candidates for treating skin hyperpigmentation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4080-4092
Number of pages13
JournalCurrent Medicinal Chemistry
Volume20
Issue number32
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2013

Keywords

  • Co-drug
  • Hydroquinone
  • Hyperpigmentation
  • Skin targeting
  • Tranexamic acid

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Drug Discovery
  • Molecular Medicine
  • Biochemistry
  • Pharmacology
  • Organic Chemistry

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