Transdermal Oxandrolone: Ex Vivo Percutaneous Absorption Study.

Area of Science:

• Pharmacology
• Dermatology
• Drug Delivery Systems

Background:

• Oxandrolone, a synthetic testosterone analogue, has anabolic properties but can cause adverse effects when taken orally.
• Transdermal drug delivery offers a potential method to mitigate oral administration side effects.
• This study investigates oxandrolone permeability through human skin as a preliminary assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the permeability of oxandrolone across human skin.
• To assess the feasibility of transdermal oxandrolone as an alternative to oral administration.
• To predict the efficiency of the transdermal route based on drug release kinetics.

Main Methods:

• Percutaneous absorption assay utilizing Franz diffusion cells.
• Employing freshly excised human skin for permeability testing.
• Analysis of drug release kinetics to determine transdermal efficiency.

Main Results:

• The stratum corneum (SC) effectively prevented 86.7% of oxandrolone permeation.
• Approximately 21.6% of the applied dose reached the receptor medium (RM).
• A total of 25.9% of the applied oxandrolone dose (247.6 μg) could permeate intact human skin.

Conclusions:

• Transdermal oxandrolone presents a potential alternative to traditional oral formulations.
• Further clinical studies are required to validate the efficacy and safety of transdermal oxandrolone.
• The findings support the exploration of transdermal delivery for oxandrolone treatment.