Strange fat explains skin's waterproof properties

[edgarshade]

New Scientist

17:18 27 April 2012 by Helen Thomson

Considering we know it like the back of our hands, we understand surprisingly little about how skin forms the watertight barrier that protects our body from the environment. Now, for the first time, the basic molecular structure of the skin layer that forms this barrier has been identified. The discovery could pave the way for new technology to deliver drugs directly through the skin in order to reduce side effects.

The structure and function of the skin barrier has long intrigued researchers. The barrier is known to lie in the outermost layer of skin – the stratum corneum – and more specifically in the fat that occupies the space between cells within this layer.

The team now intend to construct a computer model of the skin to help them screen drugs that could potentially open this seemingly impermeable barrier. They hope this will enable widespread administration of drugs through the skin and directly into the blood supply, sidestepping side effects that are caused when orally administered drugs are metabolised in the liver and intestines..

More...
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21755-strange-fat-explains-skins-waterproof-properties.html

 

[ro4eva]

Being able to mainline without a syringe - I'm getting butterflies in my stomach.

 

[slimvictor]

I am enjoying the potential philosophical ramifications of people not believing that "I end at my skin".
If the skin is not the "end of self", then where, exactly, does the body or self end?

 

[ro4eva]

The foreskin?






I'm gonna go now.

 

[methoxetaman]

Well we already know of DMSO... it permeates the skin pretty well. I've heard of people dissolving the jwh of their choice and dropping it on the skin for a quick onset.

DMSO can carry other drugs with it across membranes. It is more successful ferrying some drugs, such as morphine sulfate, penicillin, steroids, and cortisone, than others, such as insulin. What it will carry depends on the molecular weight, shape, and electrochemistry of the molecules. This property would enable DMSO to act as a new drug delivery system that would lower the risk of infection occurring whenever skin is penetrated.

http://www.dmso.org/articles/information/muir.htm