Measurement and Simulation of Permeation and Diffusion in Native and Cultivated Tissue Constructs

Abstract

Characterization of native skin or cultured 3D skin models with respect to permeability plays an important role for the development and testing of pharmaceuticals and cosmet- ics. Extensive efforts have been dedicated to determining the key parameters describing permeability and diffusion. Whereas respective methods are well established for native skin biopsies, only few are available for 3D skin models, as these have usually much lower dimensions. In this chapter, some fundamentals about permeation and diffusion as well as state of the art of measurement methods used for skin biopsies are summarized. An alternative method for the determination of the permeation in a membrane insert system and the use of a modular simulation to support permeability studies is presented and discussed.