Iontophoresis of hydrocortisone across hairless mouse skin: investigation of skin alteration.

The effects of hydration, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and electric current on the permeability of hairless mouse skin was examined in vitro with a neutral solute, hydrocortisone, as a permeant. The study was carried out by pretreating the skin with (1) normal saline, (2) 0.06% SDS in 0.3% NaCl, (3) normal saline plus 0.5 mA anodic current, and (4) 0.06% SDS in 0.3% NaCl plus 0.5 mA anodic current for 8 h. The pretreated skin was then immediately used for passive or anodic transport of hydrocortisone. Results show that pretreatment of skin with either normal saline or 0.06% SDS resulted in a slightly increased passive penetration of hydrocortisone with a prolonged lag time, but did not significantly change the anodic transport of hydrocortisone. There was no significant difference between normal saline pretreatment and 0.06% SDS pretreatment, indicating that 0.06% SDS did not irreversibly alter the permeability of skin other than its hydration effect. Pretreatment of skin with current, and especially with current combined with 0.06% SDS, yielded a significant increase in both passive and anodic transport of hydrocortisone with reduced lag time, indicating that alteration of the skin structure had occurred. The reversibility of this alteration depends on the duration of exposure of the skin to the electric field. Short-term exposure (< 2 h) does not appear to change the permeability of skin in any significant way; long-term exposure may lead to slowly reversible or irreversible skin alteration.