Clobetasol Propionate

Using dermal open‑flow microperfusion, the kinetics of clobetasol‑17‑propionate (CP‑17) from Dermovate® cream were measured in lesional and non‑lesional psoriatic skin of 12 patients. Mixed‑effects modeling showed that skin condition (lesional vs. non‑lesional), treatment duration, and probe depth influenced penetration. CP‑17 penetrated more slowly into lesional skin, but repeated daily dosing normalized penetration, and no drug accumulation occurred in the dermis. The thickened psoriatic stratum corneum likely acts as a trap, slowing penetration. These time‑ and depth‑resolved data provide insight into topical corticosteroid behavior in diseased skin.

Fig. 1 The membrane-free dOFM probe within the dermis is continuously perfused and delivers interstitial fluid for further analysis. (Bodenlenz M, et al., 2016)

Clobetasol propionate (CP) was loaded into lecithin/chitosan nanoparticles (~250 nm, positive surface charge) and incorporated into a chitosan gel (final CP 0.005%). In the carrageenan‑induced paw edema test in rats, this nanoparticle‑in‑gel formulation produced significantly higher edema inhibition than a commercial cream (CP 0.05%) and a sodium deoxycholate gel (CP 0.05%), despite containing ten‑fold less drug. No significant skin barrier disruption or histological changes were observed. The nanoformulation markedly improves the risk‑benefit ratio for topical CP.

Fig. 2 Histology of the rat skin samples. (Şenyiğit T, et al., 2016)