International Journal of Pharmaceutics 296 (2005) 44–54
In vivo comparison of various liposome formulations
for cosmetic application
Gabriele Betz
a
, Angela Aeppli
a
, Natalia Menshutina
b
, Hans Leuenberger
a,∗
a
InstituteofPharmaceuticalTechnology,Pharmacenter,UniversityofBasel,Klingelbergstr.50,4056Basel,Switzerland
b
DepartmentofCybernetics,MendeleyevUniversityofChemicalTechnologyofRussia,MiusskayaSquare,9Moscow125047,Russia
Received 18 June 2004; received in revised form 11 February 2005; accepted 12 February 2005
Available online 8 April 2005
Abstract
The interaction of liposome formulations, prepared with phospholipids of different origins (egg and soya), with skin were
compared in terms of their effects on skin water content, skin barrier function, and skin elasticity. Short-term effect of four different
liposome formulations and two references during 3.5h was investigated non-occlusively on the volar side of the forearm of 10
volunteers, ranging in age from 24 to 32 years. Liposomes composed of different phospholipids showed differing effects on
skin humidity. The maximal effect was achieved within 30 min and constant values were reached after 1.5 h for all formulations,
however values remained significantly higher than without treatment (p < 0.05) during the whole application time. The best
results were obtained with liposome formulations prepared from egg phospholipids, which exhibited a 1.5-fold increase in skin
water content (p < 0.05), whereas liposome formulations prepared from soya phospholipids showed no advantage compared to
the references. Skin barrier function showed greatest influence within 30 min after application and remained constant after 1.5 h
for all formulations. Within the liposome formulations, egg phospholipids showed the highest transepidermal water loss values
during the first 30 min, representing the strongest interactions with the skin barrier function, whereas for the other liposome
formulations lower transepidermal water loss values were measured. Skin elasticity and tiring effect of the skin was not influenced
by any of the formulations, due to the young skin tested. Long-term effect of two different liposome formulations mixed with
base cream DAC in two different concentrations during 14 days was investigated non-occlusively on the volar side of the forearm
of 10 volunteers, ranging in age from 20 to 25 years. Skin water content was measured daily and the results showed that skin
humidity was increased significantly (p < 0.05) for the formulation containing 20% egg phospholipids during 6 days.
Liposome formulations prepared with egg phospholipids showed significantly higher (p < 0.01) hydration effects during 3.5 h
of application on human skin compared with liposome formulations prepared with soya phospholipids.
© 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Keywords: Liposomes; Skin barrier; Transepidermal water loss; Skin hydration; Skin aging; In vivo comparison
The work was partly presented at the 5th Central European Symposium on Pharmaceutical Technology and Biotechnology in Ljubliana,
Slovenia, September 25–27, 2003.
∗
Corresponding author. Tel.: +41 61 267 15 01; fax: +41 61 267 15 16.
E-mailaddress: hans.leuenberger@unibas.ch (H. Leuenberger).
0378-5173/$ – see front matter © 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.
doi:10.1016/j.ijpharm.2005.02.032