Design of Advanced Carrier for Ceramide

Abstract

Ceramide plays a vital role in maintaining skin hydration and serves as an essential component of the skin barrier. So, incorporating adequate amounts of ceramide in cosmetics is a crucial objective for the industry. However, the hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding properties of ceramide lead to crystallization in aqueous solution, limiting its concentration. Previously, lyotropic liquid crystals (LLCs) were used to contain ceramide, but these carriers are also unstable in aqueous solution due to their hydrophilic nature. This paper presents an improvement in ceramide carrier design by utilizing thermotropic liquid crystals (TLCs) with hydrophobic properties. The results show that the hydrophobic (TLC) - hydrophilic (aqueous solution) interface significantly increases ceramide concentration by promoting its self-assembly at the interface. This work was supported by the Korea National Research Foundation NRF(2021R1A4A1030944) and COSMAX, Republic of Korea.