Recently, a novel humidifier that sprays water fine droplets equipped with a copolymer, poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene)–poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT/PSS) was developed. PEDOT/PSS in the humidifier absorbs water from the environment and releases fine water droplets by heating. In the present study, the effect of hydration on the skin barrier, stratum corneum, was first determined by the application of fine water droplets using the humidifier. The skin-penetration enhancement effect of a model hydrophilic drug, caffeine, was also investigated using the humidifier and compared with a conventional water-evaporative humidifier. More prolonged skin hydration effect was observed after application of the fine water droplet release humidifier using PEDOT/PSS than that using a conventional humidifier. In addition, markedly higher skin permeation of caffeine was observed in both infinite and finite dose conditions. Furthermore, higher skin permeation of caffeine from oil/water emulsion containing caffeine was observed in finite dose conditions by pretreatment with the humidifier using PEDOT/PSS. This device can provide water droplets without replenishing water, so it is more convenient for enhancing the skin permeation of chemical compounds from topical drugs and cosmetic formulations.

最近，开发了一种新型加湿器，该加湿器可以喷洒带有共聚物聚（3,4-乙烯二氧噻吩）-聚（苯乙烯磺酸盐）（PEDOT/PSS）的细小水滴。加湿器中的 PEDOT/PSS 从环境中吸收水分，并通过加热释放细小的水滴。在本研究中，水合作用对皮肤屏障角质层的影响首先通过使用加湿器施加细小的水滴来确定。还使用加湿器研究了模型亲水性药物咖啡因的皮肤渗透增强效果，并与传统的水蒸发加湿器进行了比较。在使用 PEDOT/PSS 的细水滴释放加湿器后，观察到比使用传统加湿器更持久的皮肤保湿效果。此外，在无限和有限剂量条件下观察到明显更高的咖啡因皮肤渗透。此外，通过使用 PEDOT/PSS 用加湿器预处理，在有限剂量条件下观察到来自含有咖啡因的油/水乳液的咖啡因更高的皮肤渗透。该装置可提供水滴，无需补水，因此更便于增强外用药物和化妆品配方中化学物质的皮肤渗透。