Design and evaluation of transdermal chlorpheniramine maleate drug delivery system

The study was to develop a transdermal therapeutic system for chlorpheniramine maleate (CPM). The diffusion characteristics of CPM were determined using Franz diffusion cells, from gelled ethanol-water solutions of CPM (5, 10, and 20%). TESTSKIN Living Skin Equivalent (LSE) was used to study the enhancement effect of ethanol-water solutions. The 0.6 volume fraction of ethanol gave the highest diffusion rate of CPM (Jss = 1.591 mg/cm2h). The diffusion and partition coefficient data revealed that changes in ethanol volume fraction of the vehicle and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) membrane characteristics directly affect CPM partitioning and diffusion across EVA membranes and EVA-pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) laminates. The data also suggest a possible interaction of CPM with the PSA. The steady state fluxes attained with 20% CPM gel is 34 micrograms/cm2h, which is enough to keep the drug within its therapeutic plasma levels.