Background

Many cosmetic and pharmaceutical active ingredients delivered topically onto the skin are embedded in a matrix which slows down the release of the active ingredients leading to the actives having to be liberated from the matrix prior to reaching the skin surface. This leads to a significant amount of drug being trapped in the matrix causing a high level of active ingredient wastage. Local skin irritation is often reported by patients who are sensitive to adhesive materials contained in transdermal patches (containing non-degradable and environmentally unfriendly material).

The novel technology tested in this project overcomes these problems by efficiently absorbing the dissolved bioactives into nanofiber sheets which are made of safe and biocompatible materials and can be mass produced.