Arginine-based surfactants alter the rheological and in-plane structural properties of stratum corneum model membranes

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Feb;631(Pt B):224-238. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.10.118. Epub 2022 Oct 28.

Abstract

Hypothesis: Amino acid-based surfactants have been proposed as skin permeation enhancers. In this work, we investigated the potentiality of two arginine-based amphiphiles as permeation enhancers by studying their interaction with stratum corneum (SC) model lipid membranes.

Experiments: Nα-benzoyl arginine decyl- and dodecylamide were tested in comparison with the classical enhancer, oleic acid, and the non-enhancer, stearic acid. Two complementary approaches were used: lipid monolayers, taken as models of the unit film layer of SC, and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations.

Findings: The arginine-based amphiphiles studied were able to be incorporated into the SCM membrane and alter its rheological and structural properties by disordering the lipid chains, enhancing membrane elasticity, and thinning the overall membrane. They also affected the lateral structure of heterogeneous SC membranes at the nanoscale by relaxing and rounding the domain borders. Our work shows that the alteration observed of the overall rheological and structural properties of the SC membranes appears to be a shared ability for several amphiphilic permeation enhancers. Our results encourage future exploration of those amphiphiles as skin permeation enhancers.

Keywords: Amino acid-based surfactants; Ceramide-enriched membranes; Langmuir films; Permeation enhancers; Synthetic amphiphiles.

MeSH terms

  • Arginine*
  • Epidermis
  • Rheology
  • Skin
  • Surface-Active Agents*

Substances

  • Surface-Active Agents
  • Arginine