Original Articles: 2017 Vol: 9 Issue: 3
Iontophoretic Delivery of Nebivolol Hydrochloride: Effects of Current Density, Chemical Enhancers, pH, Polymer Concentration
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to assess the feasibility of iontophoretic transdermal delivery of Nebivolol hydrochloride, an agent used in the treatment of hypertension with iontophoresis using Ag/AgCl electrodes. The effect of process variables and formulation variables like current intensity (0.05-0.5 mA/cm2), pH, concentration of polymer (Eudragit L100, HPMC E15) and permeation enhancers (D-limonene and Tween 80) on the skin permeability were examined in in vitro skin permeation studies using rat abdominal skin as the membrane. Transdermal patch was formulated and subjected for in vitro studies and cumulative amount of drug permeated and flux across the rat abdominal were calculated. The results conclude that the flux increased with the current (44.46 μg/h/cm2, R2 0.8732) and the combination of chemical enhancers with iontophoresis provided a synergistic effect on skin permeation. The results suggest that iontophoresis can be used as transdermal drug delivery of Nebivolol hydrochloride using patches with acceptable levels of current intensity.