Philippe-Henri Secrétan, Lecturer, Paris-Saclay University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Materials and Health Laboratory

I am a lecturer at the University of Paris-Saclay. I teach in the Master's program "Quality Control of Medicines" on the regulatory aspects relating to the quality of medicines and on the analytical strategies for demonstrating the compliance of medicines with these requirements.

My research, within the Materials and Health laboratory, aims to support the development of pharmaceutical forms (oral solutions, topical forms) and combined medical devices ("smart" dressings) adjusted to treat sub-populations of patients (pediatrics) and for local pathologies (infections, tumors, chronic wounds, etc.). These developments, following problems encountered by practitioners or needs perceived during my experiences as a hospital pharmacist, require an understanding of the phenomena that modulate the fate of active substances in health products and in biological tissues.

In the context of the development of health products applied to the skin, determining the methods of passage of the active substance into the skin (passage by passive diffusion? passage through cutaneous appendages?...) is particularly important. Indeed, this will make it possible to identify levers to increase the exposure of the tissue area to be targeted. Given the complexity of the skin, it is essential to use very high resolution mass spectrometry (FTICR) to distinguish the ions from the active substance from endogenous compounds.

Thus, thanks to the MALDI-FTICR equipment, with the valuable help of Dr Edith Nicol and Dr David Touboul, my colleague, Professor Bernard Do and myself, have characterized the cutaneous fate of an active substance (selumetinib) currently used orally to treat neurofibromatosis. These elements of understanding will contribute to the development of cutaneous formulas with the aim of increasing the local exposure of neurofibromas and therefore improving the management of this pathology.

Learn more: DOI: 10.1080/10837450.2024.2405829

Platform used: FT-ICR, LCM, Palaiseau