Development and evaluation of α-asarone transdermal patches based on hot-melt pressure-sensitive adhesives

Design and evaluation of a drug-in-adhesive patch for the transdermal delivery of ketoprofen

The purpose of this study was to design a drug-in-adhesive (DIA) patch for transdermal delivery of ketoprofen, using hot-melt pressure-sensitive adhesive as the matrix of the patch. The adhesion properties and skin permeation of the patches were examined, and in vivo pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of patches were evaluated. The novel ketoprofen patch with high adhesion was prepared by holt-melt method. The effects of different percentages of L-menthol on in vitro permeation were screened, 3% was added as the amount of permeation enhancer and the 24 h cumulative permeation amount(277.46 ± 15.58 µg/cm2) comparable to that of commercial patch MOHRUS®(279.74 ± 29.23 µg/cm2). Pharmacokinetic and the tissue distribution study showed no matter in plasma, muscle or skin, the drug concentration of self-made ketoprofen patch was equivalent to that of commercial patch. These data indicated that the self-made patch provided a new reference for the development of ketoprofen dosage forms and promising alternative strategy for analgesic treatment.

Preparation and In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of a Testosterone Film Forming Gel for the Treatment of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder in Women

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) is one of the most common sexual complaints in women. Currently, there is an unmet need for a drug treatment for this disorder. The purpose of this study was to develop a testosterone (TS) film forming gel used for women to treat HSDD by measuring the tackiness, peel adhesion force, tensile strength, and elasticity of the formulation. Diethylene glycol monoethyl ether (Transcutol P), an efficient penetration enhancer, was added to the optimized formulation and the transdermal permeation characteristics in vitro were studied using Franz-diffusion cells. The quantitative determination of TS was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). After 24 h, Transcutol P at 3% had the largest cumulative amount of drug and enhancement ratio of TS of 75.14 μg/cm² and 2.82, respectively. After the screening of film forming polymers and penetration enhancers, the optimal formulation was as follows: glycerol (1%, w/w); 12.5% sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC-Na) aqueous solution (0.5%, w/w); 2.5% Carbomer ethanol solution (0.5%, w/w); Transcutol P ethanol solution (3%, w/w) containing 0.5% TS; and 8% Poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) aqueous solution (30%, w/w). The optimized film forming gel had good uniformity and the release of TS in vitro was close to 100% within 24 h. In vivo studies showed the formulations had optimal area under blood drug concentration curve values in the order of 3% Transcutol P > 1% Transcutol P > 5% Transcutol P > control preparation. The formulation with 3% Transcutol P provided the highest permeation effect both in vitro and in vivo. The safety of this formulation was further evaluated with a skin irritation test. It could effectively improve the rabbit skin irritation observed with a marketed transdermal patch Androderm®. The present study provides a promising approach for the development of a novel TS film forming gel for the treatment of HSDD in women.

Systematic Review on the Effectiveness of Essential and Carrier Oils as Skin Penetration Enhancers in Pharmaceutical Formulations

Oils, including essential oils and their constituents, are widely reported to have penetration enhancement activity and have been incorporated into a wide range of pharmaceutical formulations. This study sought to determine if there is an evidence base for the selection of appropriate oils for particular applications and compare their effectiveness across different formulation types. A systematic review of the data sources, consisting of Google Scholar, EMBASE, PubMed, Medline, and Scopus, was carried out and, following screening and quality assessment, 112 articles were included within the analysis. The research was classified according to the active pharmaceutical ingredient, dosage form, in vitro/in vivo study, carrier material(s), penetration enhancers as essential oils, and other chemical enhancers. The review identified four groups of oils used in the formulation of skin preparations; in order of popularity, these are terpene-type essential oils (63%), fatty acid-containing essential oils (29%) and, finally, 8% of essential oils comprising Vitamin E derivatives and miscellaneous essential oils. It was concluded that terpene essential oils may have benefits over the fatty acid-containing oils, and their incorporation into advanced pharmaceutical formulations such as nanoemulsions, microemulsions, vesicular systems, and transdermal patches makes them an attractive proposition to enhance drug permeation through the skin.

Drug/Vehicle Impacts and Formulation Centered Stratagems for Enhanced Transdermal Drug Permeation, Controlled Release and Safety: Unparalleled Past and Recent Innovations-An Overview

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Transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDS) are one of the fascinating unconventional drug delivery systems offering plentiful advantages of which patient compliance is of paramount importance. However, as a matter of fact, the transdermal delivery of drug molecules is absolutely a tedious job which is precisely influenced by a number of factors including penetration barrier properties of the skin, drug characteristics formulation allied issues, etc. Over the years, innumerable tremendous efforts have been made in transporting the drugs through the skin into the systemic circulation by noteworthy tactics. This paper discusses such revolutionary formulation based techniques that have been endeavored in achieving the enhanced skin permeation of drugs, controlled release, and safety.

A protocol for measuring pull-off stress of wound-treatment polymers

Skin wounds and burns compromise the body's natural barrier to bacteria and other pathogens. While many forms of wound dressings are available, polymeric films are advantageous for various reasons, ranging from the ease of application to durability. One common drawback of using polymeric films for a wound bandage is that the films tend to adhere to common inanimate objects. Patients spend hours in contact with soft and hard materials pressed against their skin, which, if the skin was dressed with a polymeric film, would inflict further wound damage upon body movement. In this work, we present a novel technique that allowed for measuring polymeric tackiness, after a long incubation period, with materials regularly encountered in a hospital or home setting, and soft fabrics. The polymers were exposed to an environment intended to simulate daily conditions and the technique is designed to perform multiple experiments simultaneously with ease. Four commercially available polymers (new-skin, no-sting skin-prep, skin shield, and Silesse) were tested as proof-of-concept to gather preliminary data for an overall assessment of wound treatment efficacy, resulting in the estimation of pull-off stress of the polymers from a specimen of porcine skin. Silesse did not reveal a measurable tackiness, no-sting skin-prep had the highest mean tackiness (13.8 kPa), while the mean tackiness between new-skin and skin shield was approximately equal (9.8 kPa vs. 10.1 kPa, respectively), p = 0.05. Future work on polymeric fluids for wound dressing applications should include tensile stress and dynamic viscosity estimations.