Noninvasive transdermal iontophoretic delivery of biologically active human basic fibroblast growth factor.

Human basic fibroblast growth factor (hbFGF; 17.4 kDa) has shown promise in the treatment of several dermatological conditions; symptomatic improvement was also observed in patients with peripheral arterial disease after arterial infusion. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of using transdermal iontophoresis to deliver biologically active hbFGF noninvasively into and across the skin. The protein was cloned, expressed and purified in-house. Porcine skin was used to investigate transdermal iontophoretic transport of hbFGF as a function of current density (0.15, 0.3, and 0.5 mA/cm2); results were subsequently confirmed using human skin. Cumulative hbFGF permeation and skin deposition were quantified by ELISA. The absence of proteolytic degradation during skin transit was confirmed by SDS–PAGE. Biological activity postdelivery was determined using cell proliferation assays in human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) and NIH 3T3 cell lines. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) was used ...