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Review
. 2019 Sep 24;11(10):490.
doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics11100490.

Targeted Topical Delivery of Retinoids in the Management of Acne Vulgaris: Current Formulations and Novel Delivery Systems

Gemma Latter  1 , Jeffrey E Grice  2 , Yousuf Mohammed  3 , Michael S Roberts  4   5 , Heather A E Benson  6
Affiliations
Review

Targeted Topical Delivery of Retinoids in the Management of Acne Vulgaris: Current Formulations and Novel Delivery Systems

Gemma Latter et al. Pharmaceutics. .

Abstract

Acne vulgaris is a common inflammatory pilosebaceous condition that affects 80-90% of adolescents. Since the introduction of tretinoin over 40 years ago, topical retinoid products have been a mainstay of acne treatment. The retinoids are very effective in addressing multiple aspects of the acne pathology as they are comedolytic and anti-inflammatory, and do not contribute to antibiotic resistance or microbiome disturbance that can be associated with long-term antibiotic therapies that are a common alternative treatment. However, topical retinoids are associated with skin dryness, erythema and pain, and may exacerbate dermatitis or eczema. Thus, there is a clear need to target delivery of the retinoids to the pilosebaceous units to increase efficacy and minimise side effects in surrounding skin tissue. This paper reviews the current marketed topical retinoid products and the research that has been applied to the development of targeted topical delivery systems of retinoids for acne.

Keywords: acne; adapalene; liposomes; microemulsion; nanocarriers; retinoids; skin; tazarotene; tretinoin.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Human hair follicle as a target site for acne treatment showing the pathogenesis of acne: early stage to closed comedo (whitehead) and open comedo (blackhead), papule, pustule and cyst. Reproduced with permission [3], Elsevier, 2012.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Nanosystems evaluated for the targeted delivery of retinoids to the skin tissues and follicles.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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