Project description
Enhancing skin penetration
The skin acts as a barrier, protecting the body from environmental threats, pathogens, and chemical exposure. Its multi-layered structure effectively prevents the penetration of most substances, making the delivery of therapeutic compounds a significant challenge in dermatology. To improve delivery of natural bioactive compounds (NBCs) into the skin, the EU-funded ENHANCE-SKIN project proposes to encapsulate them in nanodispersions in a biopolymer matrix and incorporate enzymes, like hyaluronidase, to break down hyaluronic acid in the skin. The project will extract NBCs from various sources and develop biocompatible encapsulation methods for optimal, non-toxic NBC transdermal delivery.
Objective
The use of natural bioactive compounds (NBCs) in dermatological treatment is a promising healthcare frontier, however their effectiveness is hindered by limitations in skin penetration. Enhancing their delivery to target skin layers or specific disease sites remains a significant challenge. Encapsulation of NBCs within nanodispersions (NDs) and their embedding in a biopolymer hydrogel matrix has demonstrated promising outcomes in terms of improving the delivery of NBCs through the skin. However, there's still a need for more significant enhancement in penetration, while the reasons behind this effect remain uncertain. This project aims to overcome these challenges through the immobilization of enzymes, like hyaluronidase, that breaks down hyaluronic acid (major skin component) within the biopolymer hydrogel matrix. By prioritizing enzyme immobilization as a catalyst for enhanced penetration, this project pushes the boundaries beyond traditional encapsulation methods. This project plans to extract bioactive compounds from natural sources and investigate effective biocompatible encapsulation methods. Additionally, it will assess the biopolymer hydrogel matrix where the developed NDs and enzymes will be incorporated and immobilized. The equilibrium of the immobilized enzyme will be carefully studied to achieve optimal association and dissociation, aiming to enhance transdermal delivery while maintaining skin health. Moreover, comprehensive bioavailability and cytotoxicity studies, as well as in vitro and ex vivo analyses for in depth characterization of the transdermal delivery of NBCs are planned. By merging biocatalysis and nanomaterials, this project offers a more effective alternative to conventional treatments, including skin cancer, minimizing the ecological impact.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncology
- engineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materials
- natural scienceschemical sciencescatalysisbiocatalysis
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteinsenzymes
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Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinator
11635 Athina
Greece