A pharmacokinetic model for percutaneous absorption

Percutaneous absorption in man: a kinetic approach

A biophysically based kinetic model of chemical absorption via human skin was developed and applied to the penetration kinetics of 12 chemicals: aspirin, benzoic acid, benzyl nicotinate, caffeine, chloramphenicol, colchicine, dinitrochlorobenzene, diethyltoluamide, malathion, methyl nicotinate, nitrobenzene, and salicylic acid. The pharmacokinetic model is linear and includes four first-order rate constants: (1) k1 describes penetrant diffusion through the stratum corneum; (2) k2 relates to further transport across the viable epidermal tissue to the cutaneous blood vessels; (3) k3 is a parameter which delays the partitioning of penetrant at the stratum corneum-viable tissue interface and, in conjunction with k2, reflects the penetrant's relative affinity for the stratum corneum over the viable tissue; and (4) k4 characterizes the elimination rate of chemical from blood to urine. Previously determined diffusion coefficients and molecular weight corrections were used to estimate k1 and k2; k4 values employed were those measured experimentally. Urinary excretion rate data following topical administration were simulated and k3 was estimated for each penetrant by optimizing the fit of the model to the data points. Ratios of k3/k2 should be related to the partition coefficients for the chemicals between stratum corneum and viable tissue and it was shown that these ratios agreed reasonably well with the corresponding octanol-water partition coefficients. This approach may have potential for predicting the general percutaneous absorption kinetics of chemicals based on recognized cutaneous biology and penetrant molecular weight and lipophilicity.

Effect of serum-parathion interactions on cutaneous penetration of parathion in vitro

The effect of serum and serum fractions on the cutaneous penetration of [35S]parathion from surface deposits or adsorbed formulations was determined. The total quantity of [35S]parathion which penetrated pig skin was significantly greater when the receptor fluid was whole swine serum or the 500 or 10,000 MW retentate from ultrafiltration of the serum than when phosphate-buffered saline (PBSA), the 500 MW filtrate or distilled water, respectively, was used. The enhanced penetration was observed without any associated evidence of metabolic change and with both dosing methods. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that serum-parathion interactions are the cause of the enhanced penetration. The apparent solubility of parathion was 16 times greater in whole serum than in PBSA. Gel-filtration chromatography of the serum-parathion mixture revealed that approximately 11% of the 35S activity was associated with two protein fractions which had consistently different elution volumes. Most of the radioactivity, however, was not tightly bound and the equilibrium between bound and free parathion was rapidly reversible. The result of interaction between parathion and serum proteins was an increased apparent solubility, relative to PBSA, and increased cutaneous penetration. The significance of these findings is clear: when designing in vitro systems to model in vivo percutaneous absorption, investigators should consider that the affinity of the fluid interfacing with the dermis in vivo may influence the kinetics of penetration when subcutaneous blood flow is low.

Prediction of drug disposition kinetics in skin and plasma following topical administration

The development of a physically based pharmacokinetic model for percutaneous absorption is described. The simulation includes four first-order rate constants assigned the following significance: (a) absorption across the stratum corneum; (b) diffusion through the viable tissue; (c) a retardation process which retains penetrant in the stratum corneum (and hence provides a means to mathematically produce a "reservoir" effect, for example); and (d) uptake from the skin into the systemic circulation and subsequent elimination from the body. The kinetic equations of the model are solved and expressions are obtained for the concentration of penetrant within the stratum corneum (and available to subsequently partition into the viable epidermis) and the plasma concentration of the administered substance, as a function of time. Using example values for the four rate parameters, disposition profiles for the penetrant in skin and plasma were derived. The cases considered cover slow and fast stratum corneum penetrants, substances which are excreted rapidly or slowly from the body, and absorbing molecules with a variety of relative stratum corneum-viable tissue affinities. The results suggest a framework for the prediction of pharmaceutically and clinically relevant information following the topical administration of therapeutic agents for local or systemic effect.

Physicochemical interpretation of the pharmacokinetics of percutaneous absorption

Theoretical expressions are derived to predict the amount of a drug reaching the dermal capillaries as a function of simple physicochemical parameters. The mathematical approach involves the solution of the diffusion equation for the drug in the skin using the technique of Laplace transformation. First-order kinetics are assumed for the absorption of drug from the vehicle into the skin and for uptake into the capillaries. The relative importance of these different processes (absorption from vehicle, diffusion through the skin, and capillary removal) involved in the percutaneous penetration of a drug is discussed, and their influence upon the time course of the absorption phenomenon is illustrated.