Multiphoton microscopy. a powerful tool in skin research and topical drug delivery science

Visualization of Nanocarriers and Drugs in Cells and Tissue

In this chapter, the visualization of nanocarriers and drugs in cells and tissue is reviewed. This topic is tightly connected to modern drug delivery, which relies on nanoscopic drug formulation approaches and the ability to probe nanoparticulate systems selectively in cells and tissue using advanced spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. We first give an overview of the breadth of this research field. Then, we mainly focus on topical drug delivery to the skin and discuss selected visualization techniques from spectromicroscopy, such as scanning transmission X-ray microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging. These techniques rely on the sensitive and quantitative detection of the topically applied drug delivery systems and active substances, either by exploiting their molecular properties or by introducing environmentally sensitive probes that facilitate their detection.

Membrane permeability based on mesh analysis

The main function of a membrane is to control the exchange of matter between the surrounding regions. As such, accurate modeling of membranes is important to properly describe their properties. In many cases in both biological systems and technical applications, the membranes are composite structures where transport properties may vary between the different sub-regions of the membrane. In this work we develop a method based on Mesh analysis that is asymptotically exact and can describe diffusion in composite membrane structures. We do this by first reformulating a generalized Fick's law to include the effects from activity coefficient, diffusion coefficient, and solubility using a single condensed parameter. We then use the derived theory and Mesh analysis to, in essence, retrieve a finite element method approach. The calculated examples are based on a membrane structure that reassembles that of the brick and mortar structure of stratum corneum, the upper layer of our skin. Resulting concentration profiles from this procedure are then compared to experimental results for the distribution of different probes within intact stratum corneum, showing good agreement. Based on the derived approach we further investigate the impact from a gradient in the fluidity of the stratum corneum mortar lipids across the membrane, and find that it is substantial. We also show that anisotropic organisation of the lipid mortar can have large impact on the effective permeability compared to isotropic mortar lipids. Finally, we examine the effects of corneocyte swelling, and their lateral arrangement in the membrane on the overall membrane permeability.

Extracting Information on Linear and Nonlinear Absorption from Two-Beam Action Spectroscopy Data

Two-beam action (2-BA) spectroscopies are a recently developed class of techniques for determining the order(s) of absorption (one-photon, two-photon, etc.) that contribute to an observable signal. When only a single order of absorption is present, 2-BA spectroscopies allow for the determination of that order from data obtained at a single value of the observable. It has been shown previously that when two orders of absorption are present, they can be determined unambiguously from measurements made at several values of the observable. However, this latter approach cannot be used for single-valued observables, such as a polymerization threshold. Here we develop a theoretical comparison between conventional methods that determine the order(s) of absorption using logarithmic plots and 2-BA-based techniques. We also explore how 2-BA plots arising from two orders of absorption deviate from a plot with a single, noninteger exponent. We demonstrate that these deviations can usually be used to identify the two orders of absorption and their relative contributions to the signal on the basis of measurements made at a single value of the observable.