The Skin PAMPA test predicts the permeability of drugs and dermal formulations through the human skin.
Pre-coated with a proprietary formulation, the 96 well plates are disposable, which eliminates cross contamination and the additional time and labour required for washing glass cells.
The PAMPA Explorer Complete system includes:
- STIRWELL plates (which provide optional, double sided donor-receptor stirring)
- Buffers
- Test compounds
- Hydration solutions
- Data collection/processing software
- A UV plate reader
“We evaluated the Skin PAMPA Test System using a broad range of drugs against samples of dermatomed skin mounted in Franz cells”, says Mr. Mike Kelly, President of Pion Inc.
“We observed the two methods were highly correlated, thus ensuring that researchers and product developers can now confidently screen drug permeability unencumbered by the restrictions of Franz Cell testing. They will develop better dermal products and get them to market faster, due to the many advantages of our new high throughput system.”
The conventional Franz cell method employs skin from humans, rats, pigs or cattle to evaluate the penetration of drugs through the epidermis.
These systems require mounting the skin on individual, controlled-temperature, stirred glass cells.
Purchase, cleaning, setup, and maintaining this equipment is expensive, labour intensive and cumbersome, according to Pion. As a result, the growth of transdermal drug products is inhibited by the low throughput and high cost of Franz cell testing.
