DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF TRANSDERMAL THERAPEUTIC SYSTEM OF AN ANTIHYPERTENSIVE DRUG

Abstract

Transdermal drug delivery offers potential alternative to conventional techniques employed for administration of systemic therapeutics. The present study was aimed at the formulation of matrix type transdermal system of Diltiazem hydrochloride using blends of ethyl cellulose and polyvinyl pyrrolidone in different ratios and selecting the suitable formulation for the development of transdermal system. Transdermal patches of the drug employing different ratios of ethyl cellulose and polyvinylpyrrolidone were developed and evaluated for physicochemical properties and potential drug delivery using freshly excised abdominal skin of rat. The drug excipient interactions were carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. In vitro permeation study was conducted for 11 hours using Franz diffusion cell. Interaction studies showed absence of any significant interaction between the drug and polymer as evidenced by the absence of additional peaks in the FTIR spectra. The in vitro permeation study revealed that formulation F4 showed sustained and maximum release over a period of 11 h. The results obtained from in vitro release studies were subjected to various kinetic models and the formulations were found to follow zero order release mechanism. Thus the blends of Ethyl cellulose and Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone can be incorporated in other transdermal delivery systems also to produce sustained release.