Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, Amman 11733, Jordan.
Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME), Allan 19252, Jordan.
Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2018 May 1;165:118-126. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2018.02.021. Epub 2018 Feb 12.
Understanding the distribution of nanoparticles in skin layers is fundamentally important and essential for developing nanoparticle-based dermal drug delivery systems. In the present study, we provide insights into the distribution of gold nanorods (GNRs) functionalized with hydrophobic or hydrophilic ligands in human skin layers using synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (SR-XRF) spectroscopy, confocal microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The results confirmed the important role that the surface chemistry of GNRs plays in their penetration into the skin; the GNRs coated with polyethylene glycol were distributed into the skin layers to a greater extent than the GNRs coated with hydrophobic polystyrene thiol. In addition, SR-XRF analysis revealed that the spatial distribution of endogenous elements (phosphorus and sulfur) in skin layers demonstrated a significant "anti-correlation" relationship with that of GNRs. These results suggest possible association (via adsorption) between the GNRs and these two elements localized in skin, which can be valuable for understanding the penetration mechanism of gold nanoparticles into the skin.
了解纳米颗粒在皮肤层中的分布对于开发基于纳米颗粒的皮肤药物传递系统至关重要。在本研究中，我们使用同步加速器 X 射线荧光（SR-XRF）光谱、共聚焦显微镜和透射电子显微镜研究了疏水性或亲水性配体功能化的金纳米棒（GNRs）在人体皮肤层中的分布。结果证实了 GNRs 表面化学在其穿透皮肤过程中起着重要作用；用聚乙二醇涂覆的 GNRs 比用疏水性聚苯乙烯硫醇涂覆的 GNRs 更能分布到皮肤层中。此外，SR-XRF 分析表明，皮肤层中内源性元素（磷和硫）的空间分布与 GNRs 的分布呈显著的“反相关”关系。这些结果表明，GNRs 与这两种局部存在于皮肤中的元素之间可能存在关联（通过吸附），这对于理解金纳米颗粒穿透皮肤的机制具有重要意义。
