Influence of Transcutol® CG on the skin accumulation and transdermal permeation of ultraviolet absorbers

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of Transcutol(R) CG concentration on the transdermal permeation and skin accumulation of two ultraviolet (UV) absorbers, 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone (oxybenzone) and 2-octyl-4-methoxycinnamate (cinnamate). The concentration of the UV absorber was held constant at 6% (w/w) for all vehicle systems while the concentration of Transcutol(R) CG was varied from 0 to 50% (w/w). Data showed that both UV absorbers exhibited increases in skin accumulation with increasing concentrations of Transcutol CG. Skin accumulation of oxybenzone was significantly (P < 0.05) greater than that of cinnamate for all formulations investigated. Oxybenzone skin accumulation ranged from 22.9 +/- 2.8 mug/mg (0% Transcutol(R) CG) to 80.8 +/- 27.2 mug/mg (50% Transcutol CG). Cinnamate skin accumulation ranged from 9.0 +/- 0.9 mug/mg to 39.8 +/- 12.2 mug/mg at 0 and 50% Transcutol CG, respectively. No significant differences were found in the transdermal permeation of oxybenzone or cinnamate for any of the formulations tested. The results of this study demonstrate that the inclusion of Transcutol CG in sunscreen formulations increases the skin accumulation of the UV absorbers oxybenzone and cinnamate without a concomitant increase in transdermal permeation. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.