Development of Transdermal Drug Delivery System for the Combination of Physostigmine and Procyclidine

The purpose of this study was to develop transdermal drug delivery system (TDDS) for the combination of physostigmine and procyclidine. The effects of various pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA) on the percutaneous absorption of procyclidine across hairless mouse skin were evaluated to select an appropriate PSA. In addition, the influences of various vehicles on the percutaneous absorption of procyclidine from PSA matrix across hairless mouse skin were evaluated using flow-through diffusion cell system at $37^{\circ}C$. Physostigmine did not have any influence on the permeation rate of procyclidine. The flux of procyclidine was the highest in silicone and PIB and was relatively lower in SIS, Acryl, and SBS adhesive matrices, however, their use was limited by the crystallization of the drug in the matrix. Among acrylic adhesives, the permeability of procyclidine was the highest from poly (ethylene oxide) grafted acrylic adhesive. Some enhancers show different enhancing effect depending on the drug, however, many of the tested enhancers showed enhancing effect for the permeation of both procyclidine and physostigmine to some extent. $Crovol^{\circledR}$ EP 40 showed the highest enhancing effect on the permeation of both compounds. The size of TDDS to provide required permeation rate was estimated to be $35\;cm^2$ based on available information.