Washington, Oct 10 (IANS): Drugs may soon be delivered through the skin.

In a finding that may have major implications for the smooth delivery of drugs via skin, scientists have identified key characteristics that enhance a nanoparticle's ability to penetrate skin.

Nanoparticles are up to 100,000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair and drugs delivered using them as a platform can be more concentrated, targeted and efficient than those delivered through traditional means, shows a study at University of Southampton.

“By creating nanoparticles with different physicochemical characteristics and testing them on skin, we have shown that positively charged nanorod shaped, nanoparticles are two to six times more effective at penetrating skin than others,” said Antonios Kanaras from British University of Southampton.

Although previous studies showed that nanoparticles interact with the skin, conditions in these experiments have not been sufficiently controlled to establish design rules that enhance penetration.

“When the nanoparticles are coated with cell penetrating peptides, the penetration is further enhanced by up to ten times, with many particles making their way into the deeper layers of the skin (such as the dermis)," explained Antonios Kanaras.

Finding out which characteristics contribute to penetration is also important in discovering ways to prevent potentially toxic nanoparticles in other materials, such as cosmetics, from entering the skin, observed the researchers.

"Our interest is now focused on incorporating these findings into the design of new nanotechnological drugs for transdermal therapy," concluded Kanaras.

The study appeared in the journal Small.