Development and Evaluation of Novel Water-Based Drug-in-Adhesive Patches for the Transdermal Delivery of Ketoprofen

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.

The dark side of the wool? From wool wastes to keratin microfilaments through the solution blow spinning process

The valorization of discarded wool from dairy sheep breeding is a challenging issue. The most proposed strategies lie in the processing of keratin extracted from wool without reducing the molecular weight of the protein chains (the high molecular weight-HMW keratin). Here, the HMW keratin has been spun for the first time by solution blow spinning. A screening study of the process carried out with a 2-level full factorial design revealed that keratin filaments can be obtained by using the polyethylene oxide at 900 kDa, a 2 bar air pressure, and a 30 cm needle-collector distance. An annealing at 80 °C for 15 min, at pH 3.5 with citric acid contributes to increasing the viscosity of the keratin solutions thereby allowing the production of defect-free and water-stable filaments having diameters from 1 to 6 μm. A negligible toxic effect was observed after 24 and 48 h on HT29 epithelial cells and normal blood cells displayed behavior similar to the control demonstrating that the patches are hemocompatible. Therefore, the developed SBS process of keratin aqueous solutions could represent a valuable platform for developing patches that need to be blood-contacting and deposited in-situ.

A Fast HPLC/UV Method for Determination of Ketoprofen in Cellular Media

A simple, sensitive and quick HPLC method was developed for the determination of ketoprofen in cell culture media (EMEM, DMEM, RPMI). Separation was performed using a gradient on the C18 column with a mobile phase of acetonitrile and miliQ water acidified by 0.1 % (v/v) formic acid. The method was validated for parameters including linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of quantitation and limit of detection, as well as robustness. The response was found linear over the range of 3-100 μg/mL as demonstrated by the acquired value of correlation coefficient R2=0.9997. The described method is applicable for determination of various pharmacokinetic aspects of ketoprofen in vitro.

Establishment and Validation of a Transdermal Drug Delivery System for the Anti-Depressant Drug Citalopram Hydrobromide

To enhance the bioavailability and antihypertensive effect of the anti-depressant drug citalopram hydrobromide (CTH) we developed a sustained-release transdermal delivery system containing CTH. A transdermal diffusion meter was first used to determine the optimal formulation of the CTH transdermal drug delivery system (TDDS). Then, based on the determined formulation, a sustained-release patch was prepared; its physical characteristics, including quality, stickiness, and appearance, were evaluated, and its pharmacokinetics and irritation to the skin were evaluated by applying it to rabbits and rats. The optimal formulation of the CTH TDDS was 49.2% hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose K100M, 32.8% polyvinylpyrrolidone K30, 16% oleic acid-azone, and 2% polyacrylic acid resin II. The system continuously released an effective dose of CTH for 24 h and significantly enhanced its bioavailability, with a higher area under the curve, good stability, and no skin irritation. The developed CTH TDDS possessed a sustained-release effect and good characteristics and pharmacokinetics; therefore, it has the potential for clinical application as an antidepressant.

Design, Development, and Evaluation of Treprostinil Embedded Adhesive Transdermal Patch

Clinical application of treprostinil in pulmonary arterial hypertension is hampered by adverse effects caused by its high dosing frequency. The objective of this investigation was to Formulate an adhesive-type transdermal patch of treprostinil and evaluate it both in vitro and in vivo. A 3²-factorial design was utilized to optimize the selected independent variables (X₁: drug amount, X₂: enhancer concentration) on the response variables (Y₁: drug release, Y₂: transdermal flux). The optimized patch was evaluated for various pharmaceutical properties, skin irritation, and pharmacokinetics in rats. Optimization results signify considerable influence (p < 0.0001) of X₁ on both Y₁ and Y₂, as compared to X₂. The optimized patch possesses higher drug content (>95%), suitable surface morphology, and an absence of drug crystallization. FTIR analysis revealed compatibility of the drug with excipients, whereas DSC thermograms indicate that the drug exists as amorphous in the patch. The adhesive properties of the prepared patch confirm adequate adhesion and painless removal, while the skin irritation study confirms its safety. A steady drug release via Fickian diffusion and greater transdermal delivery (~23.26 µg/cm²/h) substantiate the potential of the optimized patch. Transdermal therapy resulted in higher treprostinil absorption (p < 0.0001) and relative bioavailability (237%) when compared to oral administration. Overall, the results indicate that the developed drug in the adhesive patch can effectively deliver treprostinil through the skin and could be a promising treatment option for pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Transdermal delivery of inflammatory factors regulated drugs for rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease, with the features of recurrent chronic inflammation of synovial tissue, destruction of cartilage, and bone erosion, which further affects joints tissue, organs, and systems, and eventually leads to irreversible joint deformities and body dysfunction. Therapeutic drugs for rheumatoid arthritis mainly reduce inflammation through regulating inflammatory factors. Transdermal administration is gradually being applied to the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, which can allow the drug to overcome the skin stratum corneum barrier, reduce gastrointestinal side effects, and avoid the first-pass effect, thus improving bioavailability and relieving inflammation. This paper reviewed the latest research progress of transdermal drug delivery in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, and discussed in detail the dosage forms such as gel (microemulsion gel, nanoemulsion gel, nanomicelle gel, sanaplastic nano-vesiclegel, ethosomal gel, transfersomal gel, nanoparticles gel), patch, drug microneedles, nanostructured lipid carrier, transfersomes, lyotropic liquid crystal, and drug loaded electrospinning nanofibers, which provide inspiration for the rich dosage forms of transdermal drug delivery systems for rheumatoid arthritis.

Celecoxib nanocrystal-loaded dissolving microneedles with highly efficient for osteoarthritis treatment

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent degenerative disease that has a significant impact on patients' lives. Celecoxib (CXB) is now primarily used to treat OA with oral dosing. CXB's limited water solubility, on the other hand, restricts its therapeutic application. We developed a delivery system of dissolving microneedles (DMNs) loaded with CXB-nanocrystals (CXB-NCs) for the treatment of OA. Oral administration's inefficiency and injectable administration's poor compliance might be solved using DMNs. Furthermore, carrier-free NCs may dramatically increase the dissolution of drugs with poorly water-solubility, as well as the drug load of DMNs. Antisolvent precipitation was used to make CXB-NCs. CXB-NC@DMNs were prepared by mixing CXB-NCs with hyaluronic acid (HA) that had high mechanical qualities and could permeate the skin efficiently in vitro. The therapeutic effect of oral CXB-NCs was substantially better than that of the same dose of oral CXB in an in vivo pharmacodynamic trial, demonstrating that the preparation of CXB into NCs might greatly increase CXB bioavailability. Furthermore, we discovered that DMNs loaded with low-dose CXB-NCs had similar or even better efficacy than the oral CXB-NCs group. The findings suggested that CXB-NC@DMNs may be a very efficient and promising drug delivery strategy in the treatment of OA.

The Effect of Type-I Photoinitiators on the Kinetics of the UV-Induced Cotelomerization Process of Acrylate Monomers and Properties of Obtained Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives

A new method of solvent-free acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) based on UV-induced cotelomerization products was presented. The key acrylic monomers (i.e., n-butyl acrylate and acrylic acid) with copolymerizable photoinitiator 4-acrylooxybenzophenone in the presence of a selected chain transfer agent (tetrabromomethane, TBM) were used in the UV-cotelomerization process. Moreover, two kinds of UV-photoinitiators (α-hydroxyalkylphenones, HPs and acylphosphine oxides, APOs) were tested. Photo-DSC, viscosity, thermogravimetric, and GPC measurements for cotelomers were performed. The kinetics study revealed that the systems with APOs, especially Omnirad 819 and Omnirad TPO, were characterized by a much higher reaction rate and greater initiation efficiency than HPs systems were. Additionally, the APO-based syrups exhibited a higher solid content (ca. 60–96 wt%), a higher dynamic viscosity (5–185 Pa·s), but slightly lower molecular weights (M_n and M_w) compared to HP syrups. However, better self-adhesive features (i.e., adhesion and tack) were observed for PSAs based on cotelomers syrups obtained using APOs with lower solid contents (55–80 wt%). It was found that as the solids content (i.e., monomers conversion) increased the adhesion, the tack and glass transition temperature decreased and the type and amount of photoinitiator had no effect on polydispersity. Most of the obtained PSAs were characterized by excellent cohesion, both at 20 °C and 70 °C.