Passive and iontophoretic transdermal penetration of methotrexate

The in vitro iontophoretic transdermal delivery of methotrexate (MTX) across pig skin was investigated. Cathodal iontophoresis considerably increased MTX skin permeation and accumulation as compared to the passive controls. The effect of NaCl and MTX concentrations in the vehicle were also studied. As expected, MTX iontophoretic transport decreased with NaCl content. On the other hand, MTX concentration did not modify its electrotransport in the range of concentrations considered (4.4-6.6 mM). The influence of the current density (0.25-0.5 mA/cm2) was also investigated. The iontophoretic transport of MTX tends to increase with current density although this effect was not always statistically significant. Finally, the possibility of using anodal iontophoresis from an acid (pH 4.0-5.0) donor solution to deliver MTX was explored. This was limited due to the low solubility of MTX in acid pH. On the whole, this work that iontophoresis may be used to improve the topical application of MTX for the treatment of psoriasis.