https://doi.org/10.4081/ejh.2022.3321

A spectrofluorometric analysis to evaluate transcutaneous biodistribution of fluorescent nanoparticulate gel formulations

Vol. 66 No. 1 (2022)
Submitted: 2 September 2021
Accepted: 17 January 2022
Published: 7 February 2022
Organ culture, bioreactor, transcutaneous biodistribution, spectrofluorimetric analysis
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Authors

Enrica Cappellozza
Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Anatomy and Histology, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Verona, Italy.
Federico Boschi
federico.boschi@univr.it
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9623-6859
Department of Computer Science, University of Verona, Italy.
Maddalena Sguizzato
Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Italy.
Elisabetta Esposito
Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Italy.
Rita Cortesi
Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Italy.
Manuela Malatesta
Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Anatomy and Histology, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Verona, Italy.
Laura Calderan
Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Anatomy and Histology, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Verona, Italy.

The investigation of the absorption of drug delivery systems, designed for the transport of therapeutic molecules inside the body, could be relatively simplified by the fluorophore association and tracking by means of bio-imaging techniques (i.e., optical in vivo imaging or confocal and multiphoton microscopy). However, when a fluorescence signal comes out from the skin, its specific detection can be problematic. Skin high autofluorescence can hinder the observation of administered exogenous fluorophores conjugated to drug delivery systems, making it more challenging to detect their biodistribution. In the present study, we have developed a method based on the spectrofluorometric analysis of skin samples to discriminate the fluorescent signal coming from administered fluorescent molecules from the background. Moreover, we gave a semi-quantitative evaluation of the signal intensity. Thus, we distinguished two gel formulations loading the fluorophore rhodamine B (called GEL RHO and GEL SLN-RHO). The two formulations of gels, one of which containing solid lipid nanoparticles (GEL RHO-SLN), were administered on skin explants incubated in a bioreactor, and the penetration was evaluated at different time points (2 and 6 hours). Cryostatic sections of skin samples were observed with confocal laser scanning microscopy, and a spectrofluorometric analysis was performed. Significantly higher signal intensity in the samples administered with SLN-RHO GEL, with a preferential accumulation in the hair bulbs, was found. Reaching also the deeper layers of the hair shaft after 6 hours, the solid lipid nanoparticles thickened with polymer represent a suitable drug delivery system for transcutaneous administration.

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How to Cite

Cappellozza, E., Boschi, F., Sguizzato, M., Esposito, E., Cortesi, R., Malatesta, M., & Calderan, L. (2022). A spectrofluorometric analysis to evaluate transcutaneous biodistribution of fluorescent nanoparticulate gel formulations. European Journal of Histochemistry, 66(1). https://doi.org/10.4081/ejh.2022.3321
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