Researchers found that papain (an enzyme that breaks down collagen) can penetrate the outer skin barrier when delivered via transferosomes—tiny lipid capsules designed to ferry ingredients deeper into skin. However, it stopped at the epidermal/dermal layer and didn't fully penetrate thick skin. The good news: papain caused skin damage when applied as a plain solution, but caused no damage when wrapped in these capsules, suggesting safer delivery is possible.

Scientists created two types of lipid delivery systems (liposomes and transferosomes) loaded with papain and tested whether they could cross skin barriers using shed snake skin and rat skin models. They also checked whether papain damaged skin cells when delivered different ways.

Funding not disclosed in abstract