Preferential pi-pi complexation between tamoxifen and borage oil/gamma linolenic acid: transcutaneous delivery and NMR spectral modulation.

The effect of different proportions of borage oil on the in vitro transcutaneous delivery of tamoxifen were studied, with the aim of developing a gel capable of the simultaneous delivery of tamoxifen and gamma linolenic acid across (breast) skin. Supplementary work probed 1H NMR spectral data for tamoxifen in the presence of different proportions of polyunsaturated or unsaturated fatty acids. Typical, non-aqueous gels were modified to contain 1% tamoxifen and three levels of borage oil ( approximately 25% gamma linolenic acid) and the transcutaneous delivery of both tamoxifen and GLA across full thickness skin determined in vitro. Both tamoxifen and gamma linolenic acid permeated the skin with the ratio of moles being consistent at approximately 4:1. This was irrespective of time, amount of borage oil contained in the formulation (above a minimum) and the presence of other (unsaturated) excipients: mineral oil, Miglyiol 810N, white soft paraffin, PEG400 and Cabosil M5. Dose-dependent downfield shifts of tamoxifen aromatic protons were observed in the presence of borage oil and linolenic acid (gamma and alpha), but not saturated triacyl glycerol. The permeation data suggested vehicular complexation between tamoxifen and polyunsaturated constituents of borage oil and that such complexes permeated the skin intact. The 1H NMR data supported the hypothesis that such complexation was a consequence of preferential pi-pi orbital interactions between the phenyl groups of tamoxifen and the multiple double bonds of GLA. The mechanism for the permeation of intact complexes across skin remains to be elucidated.

Ketoprofen: release from, permeation across and rheology of simple gel formulations that simulate increasing dryness.

The migration of ketoprofen through a series of simple gels that varied in solvent composition to simulate snapshots of a dynamically drying topical formulation was studied. Firstly, the release rate of ketoprofen was determined from formulations based on Cabosil and PEG 400, the proportion of which was varied to mimic progressively dryer states. Secondly, the apparent permeability of ketoprofen across the corresponding blank Cabosil gels was determined. Thirdly, the effect of macro viscosity on these data was probed by comparing permeation of ketoprofen across Cabosil and hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) gels of equal viscosity. Linear release profiles were produced for all formulations suggesting first-order release and the rate of ketoprofen liberated was inversely to the proportion of Cabosil, suggesting that the drier the film, the slower the rate of release. At the lowest level of thickener used (5%) the release rate was reduced to 45% of the control. At 25% the release rate was reduced to 24% of the control. The presence of the Cabosil had an even more dramatic effect on the apparent permeability of ketoprofen across the gels. At 5% Cabosil the apparent steady state flux was reduced to 4% of the control. At 25% the apparent steady state flux was reduced to < 1% of the control. Although the 0.5% HPC gel and the 1% Cabosil gel possessed identical macro viscosities, the permeation of ketoprofen through the HPC gel was almost double that of the Cabosil gel. The data from these experiments demonstrated that migration of active molecules through a gel is significantly affected by the amount of solvent present in, or lost from, the system. It is proposed that increased adsorption of active to the thickener plays a more important role than increased macro viscosity for reduced active release as the formulation becomes increasingly dry. Furthermore, such affects are profoundly influenced by the chemical nature of the thickener.

Effects of membrane type and liquid/liquid phase boundary on in vitro release of ketoprofen from gel formulations.

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the most appropriate model for studying the diffusional release of an active from a topical formulation is one in which the membrane offers minimal resistance to release and involves a receptor phase that presents the least possible interfacial discontinuity. Using ketoprofen as the active, a series of simple gels were prepared consisting of PEG400 thickened with Cabosil M5. Using Franz-type diffusion cells, three different types of membrane (two porous and one non-porous) were compared, as were receptor phases of PEG400 (component of formulation) and PBS. Of the membranes tested only 0.2 microm nylon provided consistent first order kinetics for a range of gel consistencies, indicating negligible influence of the membrane. The non-porous silicone membrane did not show first order kinetic profile confirming the diffusional nature of such a membrane. From the non-thickened formulations, diffusional release into a receptor phase of PEG400 was some 3x that into PBS, whereas from the formulation thickened with 5% Cabosil M5, diffusional release into a receptor phase of PEG400 was 6x lower than that into PBS. Diffusional release into PBS did not follow first order kinetics while diffusion into PEG400 did, suggesting that the existence of a discontinuity affected the release process. Although the importance of zero-resistance membranes is of perhaps obvious importance, it is often not stated in the literature. The existence of phase/hydrodynamic boundaries in release studies can be a source of significant inaccuracy.

The in vitro delivery of NSAIDs across skin was in proportion to the delivery of essential fatty acids in the vehicle--evidence that solutes permeate skin associated with their solvation cages?

As part of our investigations into novel dual action topical anti-arthritis systems, the permeation of ibuprofen or ketoprofen plus eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were determined from a fish oil vehicle across pig ear skin in vitro. The steady state fluxes of ibuprofen and ketoprofen were 9.17+/-1.98 microgram cm(-2)h(-1) and 6.12+/-2.39 microgram cm(-2)h(-1), respectively. At 24h, 5.7 microgram cm(-2) EPA and 3.1 microgram cm(-2) DHA permeated when the solute was ibuprofen; 1.4 microgram cm(-2) EPA and 1.0 microgram cm(-2) DHA when ketoprofen was the solute. At 12h, the ketoprofen/ibuprofen ratio of the moles permeated was 0.27, the ratio of EPA permeated simultaneously with ketoprofen and ibuprofen was 0.22 and the ratio of DHA permeated simultaneously with ketoprofen and ibuprofen was 0.24. We believe this is the first time that simultaneous permeation across skin of a solute and its vehicle has been determined purposefully. The data successfully demonstrated that simultaneous permeation of NSAIDs and essential fatty acids, EPA and DHA from a formulation containing fish oil is feasible. In addition, for both NSAIDs, the relative rates of permeation of EPA and DHA, were in proportion to their levels in the fish oil and the permeation rate of either fatty acid was higher when the permeation rate of the solute was greater. This suggested that the greater the rate of permeation of the NSAID, the greater the rate of permeation of the vehicle, and that a solute permeates skin complete with its vehicular solvation cage. This apparent relationship between solute and vehicle fluxes may be of more widespread significance to skin permeation experimentation.