New Zealand scientists claim breakthrough in skin treatment technology

New Zealand scientists said Wednesday they have developed a breakthrough technology to deliver medical treatments through the skin.

The novel drug delivery carrier system allowed peptides -- naturally occurring compounds of amino acids -- to be delivered directly to the targeted cells through the skin, said University of Auckland scientists.

The skin was normally seen as a relatively impervious covering and was rarely used for drug delivery, Professor Julia Kennedy said in a statement.

"Obtaining a biological response from applying substances through the skin is very difficult to achieve and approaches can be extremely expensive," said Kennedy.

The technology had taken four years to develop and started by investigating the physicochemical properties of the wound healing/ anti-aging peptide and identifying issues with getting the peptide into the skin.

It had shown that highly beneficial peptides had been delivered to skin cells and shown to boost collagen and elastin production, in a way that was believed to be unprecedented.

"It's exciting that this research has produced a technology that has the potential for wide biological application, such as vaccination delivery through topical application," said Kennedy. Endi