Shed king cobra and cobra skins as model membranes for in-vitro nicotine permeation studies

Shed king cobra skin (SKCS) and shed cobra skin (SCS) were investigated for use as barrier membranes, including some pre-hydration factors, for in-vitro nicotine permeation. Inter-specimen variations in nicotine fluxes using shed snake skin were compared with those using human epidermis. Nicotine in the form of 1% w/v aqueous buffer solution at pH 5 and transdermal patches (dose 14 mg day^-1) were used. The nicotine fluxes across the shed snake skin were not significantly affected (P > 0.05) by temperature and duration of hydration pre-treatment. Scanning electron micrographs of SKCS and SCS revealed a remarkable difference in surface morphology, but the nicotine fluxes using both shed skins were not significantly different (P > 0.05). When compared with the results obtained using human epidermis, there were similarities in fluxes and permeation profiles of nicotine. Using nicotine solution, the nicotine permeation profiles of all membranes followed zero order kinetics. The amount of nicotine permeated provided good linearity with the square root of time over 24 h (R² > 0.98) when using nicotine patches. The nicotine fluxes using SKCS and SCS had less inter-specimen variation than those using human epidermis. The results suggest a potential use for SKCS or SCS as barrier membranes for in-vitro nicotine permeation studies.