1: Adv Drug Deliv Rev.  2004 Mar 27;56(5):659-74.  

Skin electroporation for transdermal and topical delivery.

Denet AR, Vanbever R, Preat V.

Unite de Pharmacie Galenique, Universite Catholique de Louvain, Avenue E.
Mounier, 73 UCL 7320, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.

Electroporation is the transitory structural perturbation of lipid bilayer
membranes due to the application of high voltage pulses. Its application to the
skin has been shown to increase transdermal drug delivery by several orders of
magnitude. Moreover, electroporation, used alone or in combination with other
enhancement methods, expands the range of drugs (small to macromolecules,
lipophilic or hydrophilic, charged or neutral molecules) which can be delivered
transdermally. Molecular transport through transiently permeabilized skin by
electroporation results mainly from enhanced diffusion and electrophoresis. The
efficacy of transport depends on the electrical parameters and the
physicochemical properties of drugs. The in vivo application of high voltage
pulses is well tolerated but muscle contractions are usually induced. The
electrode and patch design is an important issue to reduce the discomfort of the
electrical treatment in humans.

PMID: 15019751 [PubMed - in process]