Stratum corneum lipid organisation

M. W. De Jager, G. S. Gooris, I. P. Dolbnya, M. Ponec, and J. A. Bouwstra. Modelling the stratum corneum lipid organisation with synthetic lipid mixtures The importance of synthetic ceramide composition. Biochim. Biophys. Acta Bio-membr. 1664 132-140 (2004). 

Moore, D.J., and M.E. Rerek, 2000. Insights into the molecular organisation of lipids in the skin barrier from infrared spectroscopy studies of stratum corneum lipid models. Acta Derm Venereol Suppl Stockh.) 208 16. 

Fig. 5. a Bilayer organisation of the stratum corneum lipids. In the corneocyte, a protein envelope has replaced the lipid cell membrane of the cell of the viable epidermis and some lipids are covalently bound to this envelope (not represented here). Between the hydrophilic head groups of the stacked bilayers resides a water tablet, within which diffusion transport may take place parallel to the skin surface, b A water molecule passing through the skin barrier is visualised to take a conspicuously meandering way through the liquid-crystalline zones of the... 

Numerous studies have attempted to elucidate the effect of skin penetrants by thermal analysis. Kaplun-Frischoff and Touitou [182] showed that methanol decreased the melting peaks of cholesteryl oleate and ceramides and modified the DSC of isolated stratum comeum this alters its barrier properties. Similarly a soybean-lecithin micro-emulsion gel was shown to affect the stratum comeum lipid organisation by FTIR and DSC [186] and hydroxypropyl-P-cyclodextrin can increase the permeability of the stratum corneum, possibly as a result of lipid extraction that induced modest changes in the stratum comeum lipid transition temperature [179]. 

There is today a consensus about penetration pathways through the skin barrier (Bodde et al. 1990). Under normal conditions, the corneocytes are permeable essentially only to water, which implies that the transport route for hydrophilic and hydrophobic substances is via the extracellular space of the stratum corneum. The lipids of this space are organised in bilayers stacked on top of each other. The corneocyte envelopes have long-chain ceramides covalently bound to their surfaces... 

Detergents Solubilisation and/or organisation of barrier lipids and natural moisturising factors in the stratum corneum protein denaturation membrane toxicity... 

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