].Cosmet. Sci., 58, 53-54 Qanuary/February 2007)
PERCUTANEOUS PENETRATION
ENHANCERS, 2ND ED., E. Smith and
H. I. Maibach, Eds. (Taylor &Francis
Group, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2006),
432 pp., $199.95.
Percutaneous Penetration Enhancers, edited
by Eric Smith and Howard Maibach, con-
tains chapters divided into six headings:
(1) Introduction, (2) Vehicle effects in pen-
etration enhancement, (3) Physical meth-
ods of penetration enhancement, (4) As-
sessment of penetration enhancement, (5)
Retardation of percutaneous penetration,
and (6) Commercial applications of pen-
etration enhancers. This second edition is a
comprehensive review of chemical meth-
ods and physical methods for the scientist
entering the area of percutaneous drug de-
livery and presents some chapters of excep-
tional quality.
Because a chapter review gives authors
the latitude to publish conceptual think-
ing independent of the peer-review pro-
cess, one criterion for a review might be
the integration of current scientific infor-
mation into fresh and innovative contribu-
tions to the scientific literature. Using that
criterion, four chapters in this book meet
or exceed the reviewer's expectations. The
two chapters by S. Kevin Li and William
Higuchi ("Quantitative Structure-En-
hancement Relationship and the Microen-
vironment of the Enhancer Site of Action"
and "Mechanistic Studies of Permeation
Enhancers") combine to reveal innovative
thinking in the area of penetration enhanc-
ers. These clear and concise chapters chal-
lenge established methodology and left me
53
Book Review-
hungry for more. The third chapter of
note, the introductory chapter by Brian
Barry entitled "Penetration Enhancer Clas-
sification," is as current a review on pen-
etration enhancement as can be found, as
more than 50% of the 28 references are
dated 2004 or 2005. This chapter be-
comes, therefore, the first that one should
read when entering the percutaneous drug
delivery area. The fourth chapter of no-
table quality is the review by E. Braue, Jr.,
et al., "Military Perspectives in Chemical
Penetration Retardation." Most interest-
ing to the reviewer is the decades-long sci-
entific process in developing percutaneous
barrier products.
Four items suggest that this book
should have exhibited greater attention to
details. First, although it has been well
known for almost a decade that particulate
sunscreens such as titanium dioxide and
zinc oxide act by absorbing UV radiation
(R. M. Sayre, N. Kollias, R. Roberts, A.
Baqer, Physical sunscreens,]. Soc. Cosmet.
Chem., 41, 103-109 1990), Purdon,
Smith, and Surber (Chapter 25: "Retarda-
tion Strategies for Sunscreen Agents")
write that "particulate sunscreens present a
physical barrier ...scattering or reflecting
the radiation." Second, an apparent incon-
sistency is shown by Babu, Singh, and
Kanikkannan (Chapter 12: "Fatty Alcohols
and Fatty Acids"), referring to "medium
chain (C6-Cl0) ...fatty acids" on page 138
and then referring to "medium chain ali-
phatic alcohols (C8-C12)" on page 143.
No explanation is given as to why medium
chain aliphatic alcohols are longer than
PERCUTANEOUS PENETRATION
ENHANCERS, 2ND ED., E. Smith and
H. I. Maibach, Eds. (Taylor &Francis
Group, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2006),
432 pp., $199.95.
Percutaneous Penetration Enhancers, edited
by Eric Smith and Howard Maibach, con-
tains chapters divided into six headings:
(1) Introduction, (2) Vehicle effects in pen-
etration enhancement, (3) Physical meth-
ods of penetration enhancement, (4) As-
sessment of penetration enhancement, (5)
Retardation of percutaneous penetration,
and (6) Commercial applications of pen-
etration enhancers. This second edition is a
comprehensive review of chemical meth-
ods and physical methods for the scientist
entering the area of percutaneous drug de-
livery and presents some chapters of excep-
tional quality.
Because a chapter review gives authors
the latitude to publish conceptual think-
ing independent of the peer-review pro-
cess, one criterion for a review might be
the integration of current scientific infor-
mation into fresh and innovative contribu-
tions to the scientific literature. Using that
criterion, four chapters in this book meet
or exceed the reviewer's expectations. The
two chapters by S. Kevin Li and William
Higuchi ("Quantitative Structure-En-
hancement Relationship and the Microen-
vironment of the Enhancer Site of Action"
and "Mechanistic Studies of Permeation
Enhancers") combine to reveal innovative
thinking in the area of penetration enhanc-
ers. These clear and concise chapters chal-
lenge established methodology and left me
53
Book Review-
hungry for more. The third chapter of
note, the introductory chapter by Brian
Barry entitled "Penetration Enhancer Clas-
sification," is as current a review on pen-
etration enhancement as can be found, as
more than 50% of the 28 references are
dated 2004 or 2005. This chapter be-
comes, therefore, the first that one should
read when entering the percutaneous drug
delivery area. The fourth chapter of no-
table quality is the review by E. Braue, Jr.,
et al., "Military Perspectives in Chemical
Penetration Retardation." Most interest-
ing to the reviewer is the decades-long sci-
entific process in developing percutaneous
barrier products.
Four items suggest that this book
should have exhibited greater attention to
details. First, although it has been well
known for almost a decade that particulate
sunscreens such as titanium dioxide and
zinc oxide act by absorbing UV radiation
(R. M. Sayre, N. Kollias, R. Roberts, A.
Baqer, Physical sunscreens,]. Soc. Cosmet.
Chem., 41, 103-109 1990), Purdon,
Smith, and Surber (Chapter 25: "Retarda-
tion Strategies for Sunscreen Agents")
write that "particulate sunscreens present a
physical barrier ...scattering or reflecting
the radiation." Second, an apparent incon-
sistency is shown by Babu, Singh, and
Kanikkannan (Chapter 12: "Fatty Alcohols
and Fatty Acids"), referring to "medium
chain (C6-Cl0) ...fatty acids" on page 138
and then referring to "medium chain ali-
phatic alcohols (C8-C12)" on page 143.
No explanation is given as to why medium
chain aliphatic alcohols are longer than
