ORIGINAL ARTICLE The Irritant Effects of Pharmaceutically Applied Surfactants Ga ´bor Er} os • Zsuzsanna Kurgyis • Istva ´n Bala ´zs Ne ´meth • Eszter Csizmazia • Szilvia Berko ´ • Piroska Szabo ´-Re ´ve ´sz • Lajos Keme ´ny • Erzse ´bet Csa ´nyi Received: 27 October 2012 / Accepted: 11 January 2013 Ó AOCS 2013 Abstract Dermal or transdermal medication may lead to irritant contact dermatitis. However, little information is available on the irritant effect of surfactants which are applied in topical formulations. Our aim was to examine the irritant effect of the most frequent compounds in topical products. A murine model was applied. The following compounds were examined: sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS), polyethoxylated (40EO) hydrogenated castor oil and sucrose laurate. SLS led to severe erythema, increase in transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and induced necrosis and accumulation of neutrophylic granulocytes and lym- phocytes. Exposure to sucrose laurate resulted in an ele- vation of TEWL, but histology did not reveal impairment of the skin structure. Application of polyethoxylated (40EO) hydrogenated castor oil was not accompanied by tissue damage. Special attention should be paid to the irritant effect of SLS. Polyethoxylated (40EO) hydroge- nated castor oil seems to be a non-irritant agent and sucrose laurate is also a promising candidate for application in topical preparations. Keywords Application of surfactants Á Anionic surfactants Á Non-ionic surfactants Introduction Dermal and transdermal delivery of different drugs provide several advantages. The first pass effect and systemic side effects can be avoided by using this pathway. However, transdermal drug delivery per se is possible for a few drugs only [1]. Hence, there is a need for methods facilitating drug permeation and penetration. Several surfactants are used to solubilize drugs and to deliver them into the skin. It is known that surfactants may act as penetration enhancers, but the use of such compounds might damage the skin structure. An increase in permeation is often accompanied by impairment of the barrier function [2]. Hence, applica- tion of chemical penetration enhancers may result in irri- tant contact dermatitis. This disease is a non-specific and non-immunological inflammatory response of the skin to external chemical or physical impacts. It affects approxi- mately 10 % of the population [3]. Contact dermatitis frequently originates from the irritant challenges of daily life or occupational factors. Hence, the safety of widely used compounds, e.g. of cosmetic ingredients, is exten- sively studied [4]. However, transdermal drug delivery and dermal application may also lead to such inflammation. Although many active agents have been examined with regard to potential skin reactions [5], less attention has been paid to different pharmaceutical excipients. The goal of our study was to examine whether the most frequent surfactants used in dermal and transdermal formulations evoke irritant contact dermatitis. The following compounds were chosen for examination. Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) is an anionic surfactant widely utilized in dermato- logic products despite its well-known irritant effect. Poly- ethoxylated (40EO) hydrogenated castor oil is a non-ionic emulsifier with an excellent penetration-enhancing effect that is applied in both oral and topical products, mostly in a G. Er} os (&) Á Z. Kurgyis Á I. B. Ne ´meth Á L. Keme ´ny Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Szeged, Kora ´nyi Fasor 6, 6720 Szeged, Hungary e-mail: eros.gabor@med.u-szeged.hu G. Er} os Department of Oral Biology and Experimental Dental Research, University of Szeged, Tisza Lajos ko ¨ru ´t 64, 6720 Szeged, Hungary E. Csizmazia Á S. Berko ´ Á P. Szabo ´-Re ´ve ´sz Á E. Csa ´nyi Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Szeged, Eo ¨tvo ¨s utca 6, 6720 Szeged, Hungary 123 J Surfact Deterg DOI 10.1007/s11743-013-1444-6