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Urea and Derivatives as Penetration Enhancers

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Percutaneous Penetration Enhancers Chemical Methods in Penetration Enhancement

Abstract

Urea has long been used in topical and transdermal preparations and is variously described for its moisturising, keratolytic and penetration-enhancing activities. This chapter describes the historical use of urea in dermal products, describes the use of urea as an emollient in managing skin disorders such as atopic dermatitis and considers the literature reports of urea as a permeation enhancer. In attempts to increase the penetration enhancement activity of the molecule, several studies have reported chemical modifications of urea and the consequent accelerant activities towards permeants. Finally, considering the keratolytic properties of urea and, in several products, its long-term use, the chapter closes with a discussion of the safety of the molecule and its regulatory status.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, University of Reading, Whiteknights, 226, Reading, RG6 6AP, UK

    Adrian C. Williams

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  1. Adrian C. Williams
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Correspondence to Adrian C. Williams .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Manufacturing, Apoteka "Beograd", Belgrade, Serbia

    Nina Dragicevic

  2. Dermatology Clinic, University of California San Francisco Dermatology Clinic, San Francisco, USA

    Howard I. Maibach

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Williams, A.C. (2015). Urea and Derivatives as Penetration Enhancers. In: Dragicevic, N., Maibach, H. (eds) Percutaneous Penetration Enhancers Chemical Methods in Penetration Enhancement. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-47039-8_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-47039-8_18

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-47038-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-47039-8

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