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Transepidermal Drug Delivery with Ablative Methods (Lasers and Radiofrequency)

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Lasers, Lights and Other Technologies

Abstract

The skin is almost impermeable for most hydrophilic and charged molecules. A molecular weight (MW) of 500 Da is generally accepted as the upper limit for passive diffusion of lipophilic molecules. Several strategies have been used to improve many drug penetrations into the skin: microneedle, ultrasound, and more recently transepidermal drug delivery (TED). TED is a technique based on applying a medication following an ablative method (CO2 laser, erbium lasers, ablative radiofrequency). So far, there have been many reports about ablative fractional lasers, which create vertical channels to assist the delivery of topically applied drugs into the skin. In this chapter, ablative methods such as radiofrequency, lasers, and microneedling are going to be discussed. See also chapters “Transepidermal Drug Delivery: Overview, Concept, and Applications,” “Transepidermal Drug Delivery and Photodynamic Therapy,” and “Microneedling for Transepidermal Drug Delivery on Stretch Marks,” this volume.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Medicine – Dermatology, Fluminense Federal University, Praia de Icarai 139, 702, Niterói, RJ, Brazil

    Maria Claudia Almeida Issa

  2. Hospital dos Servidores do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Paulo Santos Torreão

Authors
  1. Maria Claudia Almeida Issa
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  2. Paulo Santos Torreão
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria Claudia Almeida Issa .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Medicine – Dermatology, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Maria Claudia Almeida Issa

  2. Clínicas Hospital of São Paulo of the University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Bhertha Tamura

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Issa, M.C.A., Torreão, P.S. (2018). Transepidermal Drug Delivery with Ablative Methods (Lasers and Radiofrequency). In: Issa, M., Tamura, B. (eds) Lasers, Lights and Other Technologies. Clinical Approaches and Procedures in Cosmetic Dermatology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16799-2_35

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16799-2_35

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16798-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16799-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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