Table 3.
Summary of topical retinoids for acne.
| Retinoids | Trade Name (Formulations) | Binding Affinity to RARs | US FDA Pregnancy Category |
Half-Life in Plasma |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-trans retinoic acid (Tretinoin) | Stieva-A®, Atralin®, Avita®, Retin-A®, Retin-A Micro®, Tretin-X® (Cream: 0.01%, 0.025%, 0.05%; gel: 0.01%, 0.025%, 0.04%, 0.05%, 0.1%) |
RARα(++), RARβ(++), RARγ(++) | Category C | 0.5–2 h |
| Adapalene | Differin® (Cream: 0.1%; gel: 0.1%, 0.3%; lotion: 0.1%) |
RARβ(++), RARγ(++) | Category C | 7–51 h |
| Tazarotene | Tazorac® (Cream: 0.05%, 0.1%; gel: 0.05%, 0.1%; foam: 0.1%) |
RARα(+), RARβ(+++), RARγ(++) | Category X | 18 h |
| Trifarotene | AKLIEF® (Cream: 0.005%) | RARγ(+++) | Not assigned | 2–9 h |
(+), Minimal binding affinity; (++) moderate binding affinity; (+++) strong binding affinity; Abbreviations: FDA, food and drug administration; RAR, retinoic acid receptor.