Cited by 80Advancements in Transdermal Drug DeliveryDermatology and Skin DiseasesSkin and Cellular Biology Research

Human skin models: From healthy to disease-mimetic systems; characteristics and applications

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Moniz, Tânia, Costa Lima, Sofia A., Reis, Salette·2020·British Journal of Pharmacology

Abstract

Skin drug delivery is an emerging route in drug development, leading to an urgent need to understand the behaviour of active pharmaceutical ingredients within the skin. Given, As one of the body's first natural defences, the barrier properties of skin provide an obstacle to the successful outcome of any skin drug therapy. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying this barrier, reductionist strategies have designed several models with different levels of complexity, using non‐biological and biological components. Besides the detail of information and resemblance to human skin in vivo, offered by each in vitro model, the technical and economic efforts involved must also be considered when selecting the most suitable model. This review provides an outline of the commonly used skin models, including healthy and diseased conditions, in‐house developed and commercialized models, their advantages and limitations, and an overview of the new trends in skin‐engineered models.

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Crossref · 10.1111/bph.15184

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  • Artificial membranes are distant from the in vivo condition because they lack cells and intercellular matrix, but they are useful for screening chemical-physical characteristics of compounds.

    “The first cited models consist of artificially generated membranes: they are quite distant from the in vivo condition due to the lack of cells and intercellular matrix, but they can be useful for screening with respect to the chemical-physical characteristics of the compounds to be tested.”

    From Recreating Human Skin In Vitro: Should the Microbiota Be Taken into Account? (2024) · cites this paper as [11]

    Section 4.2 describes artificial membranes as distinct from cell cultures and says simple membrane models lack similarity with human skin but are useful for testing diffusion and drug permeation. It also describes a lipid-based membrane model that can screen drug candidates. The section does not specifically say that these membranes screen compounds’ physicochemical characteristics or identify the absence of intercellular matrix as the reason they differ from living skin. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Cambier, L. , Weatherspoon, A. , Defaweux, V. , Bagut, E. T. , Heinen, M. P. , Antoine, N. , & Mignon, B. (2014). Assessment of the cutaneous immune response during Arthroderma benhamiae and A. vanbreuseghemii infection using an experimental mouse model. The British Journal of Dermatology, 170(3), 625–633. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
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Authors
Moniz, T., Costa Lima, S. A., & Reis, S.
Affiliations
  • Universidade do Porto (PT)
  • LAQV, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Ciências Químicas, Faculdade de Farmácia Universidade do Porto Porto Portugal
Venue
British Journal of Pharmacology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2020-08-19
Volume
177
Issue
19
Pages
4314-4329
ISSN
  • 0007-1188 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-5381
OpenAlex
W3039284679
Cited by
80
References
150
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 3
FWCI
0.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • British Journal of Pharmacology (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • European Regional Development Fund (COMPETE POCI‐01‐0145‐FEDER‐030834)
  • Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (CEECIND/01620/2017, PTDC/QUI‐COL/30834/2017, UID/QUI/50006/2020)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmaceutical Science › Advancements in Transdermal Drug Delivery
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Dermatology and Skin Diseases
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Skin and Cellular Biology Research
Keywords
human skin model, skin barrier, dermal drug delivery, in vitro skin model, skin permeation, active pharmaceutical ingredients, model selection
MeSH terms
Pharmaceutical Preparations, Humans, Models, Biological, Skin, Drug Delivery Systems

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