The Impact of Phospholipid-Based Liquid Crystals’ Microstructure on Stability and Release Profile of Ascorbyl Palmitate and Skin Performance

Abstract

The drug delivery potential of liquid crystals (LCs) for ascorbyl palmitate (AP) was assessed, with the emphasis on the AP stability and release profile linked to microstructural rearrangement taking place along the dilution line being investigated by a set of complementary techniques. With high AP degradation observed after 56 days, two stabilization approaches, i.e., the addition of vitamin C or increasing AP concentration, were proposed. As a rule, LC samples with the lowest water content resulted in better AP stability (up to 52% of nondegraded AP in LC1 after 28 days) and faster API release (~18% in 8 h) as compared to the most diluted sample (29% of nondegraded AP in LC8 after 28 days, and up to 12% of AP released in 8 h). In addition, LCs exhibited a skin barrier-strengthening effect with up to 1.2-fold lower transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and 1.9-fold higher skin hydration observed in vitro on the porcine skin model. Although the latter cannot be linked to LCs’ composition or specific microstructure, the obtained insight into LCs’ microstructure contributed greatly to our understanding of AP positioning inside the system and its release profile, also influencing the overall LCs’ performance after dermal application.