Crosslinked polyvinylalcohol hydrogels as vehicles for hydrophilic drugs

Polyvinylalcohol crosslinked with succinyl, adipoyl, or sebacoyl chloride at two different degrees of crosslinking was prepared and employed as a supporting material for aqueous topical gels containing propranolol hydrochloride, which was chosen as a hydrophilic model drug suitable for transdermal delivery. We analysed the effect of the nature of the crosslinker and the degree of crosslinking on drug permeation through porcine skin by means of the permeation parameters obtained from the gels and the corresponding aqueous solution. The gels showed greater drug permeation than the liquid solution due to an increase in drug solubility in the skin. Increasing degree of crosslinking and decreasing crosslinker acyl chain length in the gel enhance the drug permeability through the skin.