Ætherbal's Silicon Plasma Hydrate™ is a patent-pending amphiphilic
topical delivery platform designed around both hydrophilic and
lipophilic phases. The formulation combines an aqueous
orthosilicic-acid phase with a lipid phase and incorporates fulvic
acid and sodium hyaluronate of different molecular weights as
components of the formulation architecture.
96.11 Da
ORTHOSILICIC ACID
Small Matters. Really Small.
The design draws upon established principles of dermal and
transdermal delivery. The stratum corneum is the principal barrier
to passive skin permeation, and molecular size and physicochemical
characteristics influence a compound's ability to cross that barrier.
The widely cited 500-Dalton rule proposes that
molecules below approximately 500 Da are substantially more favorable
candidates for passive skin penetration. Orthosilicic acid has a
molecular weight of approximately 96.11 Da, placing
it well below that threshold.
H₂O + OIL
AMPHIPHILIC ARCHITECTURE
Two Chemical Worlds. One Formulation.
The system also incorporates an amphiphilic formulation strategy.
Amphiphilic compounds contain both polar and nonpolar characteristics,
and amphiphilic permeation enhancers are well established in
transdermal-delivery research.
Their interactions with stratum-corneum lipids, proteins, and the
local solvent environment can influence barrier properties and the
partitioning and permeation of active compounds.
~6 kDa
LOW-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT SODIUM HYALURONATE
Hyaluronic Acid Has a Size Story Too.
A second component of the system is the deliberate use of different
molecular weights of sodium hyaluronate. Published experimental work
has demonstrated molecular-weight-dependent behavior of topical
hyaluronic acid.
Low-molecular-weight HA at approximately 5–8 kDa
has been shown experimentally to cross the stratum corneum and enter
epidermal and dermal layers, whereas higher-molecular-weight HA was
predominantly retained at the stratum-corneum surface.
Separate research using 5 kDa HA found enhanced
epidermal delivery of a model biomacromolecule in normal skin, with
increased hydration and alterations in stratum-corneum properties
among the proposed mechanisms. Ætherbal currently incorporates a
6 kDa sodium hyaluronate fraction along with a
higher-molecular-weight fraction.
PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER
The Working Hypothesis
Based on these principles, our working hypothesis is that the
combination of very-small-molecular-weight orthosilicic acid,
molecular-weight-selected hyaluronic acid, and an amphiphilic
oil/water formulation environment may provide a favorable vehicle for
the presentation, partitioning, and dermal delivery of
botanical constituents compared with a formulation strongly
biased toward either an aqueous or lipid phase alone. This is the
scientific rationale underlying the design of Silicon Plasma Hydrate™.
WHERE THE EVIDENCE STANDS
What We Know — and What We Still Need to Test.
We distinguish that rationale from experimental proof of the finished
system. Although the individual principles underlying the formulation
are supported by published research, the extent to which the complete
Silicon Plasma Hydrate™ formulation alters the
penetration depth, flux, skin retention, or systemic
bioavailability of individual botanical constituents has not
yet been quantified in a controlled permeation study of the finished
Ætherbal formulation.
Those effects therefore remain part of our
mechanism hypothesis rather than an experimentally
established property of the finished product.
