Abstract

We analyze the tissue penetration of a steroid drug commonly used for the treatment of dermal and eye inflammations using phase-modulated stimulated Raman scattering (PM-SRS) microscopy. Depth-resolved imaging and penetration profile analysis reveal a clear difference in the drug penetration between the skin epithelial and the corneal epithelial tissue models due to the different barrier properties. The results suggest that PM-SRS imaging can be used to visualize the penetration pathway of topical drugs based on the spatial information of the cell and tissue structures, which should contribute to the design of drug functions.

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