Bicontinuous Cubic Mesophases for Hapten Delivery and Skin Surface Metabolite Collection during Patch Testing

Henrik Luu – Doctoral Candidate, Department of Occupational and Environmental Dermatology, Malmö, Sweden, Lund Univeristy; Yutaka Sugihara – Lecturer, Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health and Society, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden, Malmö University; Skaidre Jankovskaja – Postdoc, Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health and Society, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden, Malmö University; Emelie Nilsson – Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health and Society, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden, Malmö University; Magnus Bruze – Professor, Department of Occupational and Environmental Dermatology, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden, Lund Univeristy; Cecilia Svedman – Professor, Department of Occupational and Environmental Dermatology, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden, Lund Univeristy; Sebastian Björklund – Professor, Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health and Society, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden, Malmö University; Johan Engblom – Professor, Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health and Society, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden, Malmö University

Introduction:

Patch test is the gold standard for diagnosing contact allergy¹. Haptens of diverse physicochemical properties are applied to the skin using vehicles selected according to the hapten’s polarity¹. Bicontinuous cubic mesophases possess a unique internal structure that allows the incorporation of chemically diverse molecules². Due to their high-water activity, they allow the diffusion of small metabolites (< 500 Da) through the skin³. In this study, we employed a glycerol monooleate formulation for hapten delivery and the collection of small endogenous metabolites from the skin surface. Furthermore, the rheological properties were modified for easier handling in clinical practice.