title: Investigations on the percutaneous absorption of the antidepressant rolipram in vitro and in vivo.
abstract: In vitro experiments using full-thickness human skin showed that it was feasible to deliver therapeutic amounts of the new antidepressant drug rolipram. Simple transdermal devices were constructed, and the presence of isopropyl myristate (IPM) in a silicone adhesive (Dow Corning X7-2920) enhanced the flux across excised human skin. The steady-state fluxes from adhesive mixtures containing 0, 5, and 10% IPM were 3, 5.2, and 6 micrograms/cm2/hr, respectively. The in vitro experiments were confirmed in a clinical study involving six healthy male volunteers. The formulations tested were an alcoholic solution and adhesive patches containing 5 and 10% IPM. The dose of drug administered was 0.5 mg/cm2 and the device size 25 cm2. Blood samples were withdrawn over a 24-hr period and analyzed using radioimmunoassay. The topical applications were well tolerated, with only mild or no side effects. A lag time of approximately 2 hr was found for the detection of rolipram in the plasma (detection limit, 50 pg/ml). Interindividual variations both for the peak drug levels and throughout the delivery were quite high but this magnitude of variation has been observed in many other transdermal studies. Plasma levels between 1 and 2 ng/ml were found for all formulations and the AUC0-30 hr was significantly higher for the patch containing 5% IPM.
authors.affiliation: Welsh School of Pharmacy, University of Wales, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hadgraft
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hümpel
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Lever
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marks
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rapier
mesh_terms: D000279:Administration, Cutaneous; D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004304:Dosage Forms; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D011760:Pyrrolidinones / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D020889:Rolipram; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism*; D012869:Skin Absorption
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D004304:Dosage Forms; D011760:Pyrrolidinones; D020889:Rolipram