The skin permeation of a given active can vary by more than 10-fold (in some cases by more than 100-fold) as the formulation composition is altered. To find compositions that offer optimal delivery performance, it is then a real advantage be able to make many measurements. This motivated the development of HTE techniques (the implication of ‘high’ in high throughput experimentation is relative. In this specific case of skin–applied formulations, our goal was to achieve 10-100 fold efficiency gains over conventional methods). 100-fold gains were achieved through using change in skin electrical impedance as a crude proxy indicator of change in skin permeability; gains of some 10-fold were achieved through parallelization, modest scale reductions, and automation.
Most of Tioga’s proprietary HTE technologies are maintained as trade-secret, although early patents and patent applications have been published. The first of Tioga’s HTE platforms, INSIGHT™, was recognized by the 2009 Edison Bronze award in the Science and Medical category.
