Introduction: Mathematical models of dermal transport offer the advantages of being much faster and less expensive than in vitro or in vivo studies. The number of methods used to create such models has been increasing rapidly, probably due to the steady rise in computational power. Although each of the various approaches has its own virtues and limitations, it may be difficult to decide which approach is best suited to address a given problem.
Areas covered: Here we outline the basic ideas, drawbacks and advantages of compartmental and quantitative structure-activity relationship models, as well as of analytical and numerical approaches for solving the diffusion equation. Examples of special applications of the different approaches are given.
Expert opinion: Although some models are sophisticated and might be used in future to predict transport through damaged or diseased skin, the comparatively low availability of suitable and accurate experimental data limits extensive usage of these models and their predictive accuracy. Due to the lack of experimental data, the possibility of validating mathematical models is limited.
Keywords: QSAR; analytical solution; diffusion equation; finite dose; infinite dose; limitations; numerical solution; pharmakokinetic models; skin penetration; skin permeation.