Applications of dermal microdialysis: a review

Microdialysis (MD) is a sampling technique used to assess tissue concentrations of analytes producing a real-time dynamic drug profile. It's been almost 25 years since MD saw application in sampling and measuring skin concentrations following topical and transdermal applications. The purpose of this review is to provide a technical overview of MD and summarize the widespread applications that are explored with dermal or cutaneous MD ranging from a potential tool to establish topical bioequivalence to unraveling the mechanisms of inflammatory skin disorders. This review also includes current regulatory perspectives in order to benefit scientists and/or clinicians who are novices in this area.