Enhanced Bioavailability by Transdermal Administration of Pranoprofen Gels Containing Octanoic Acid to Rats

The pharmacokinetic parameters and bioavailability of pranoprofen from the gel were measured to determine the enhancing effect of octanoic acid on the transdermal absorption of pranoprofen in rats. 8 mg/kg of pranoprofen was administered from gel with octanoic acid (the enhancer group) or that without octanoic acid (the control group) via the transdermal route, and the results were compared with those obtained from the intravenously (0.5 mg/kg, IV group) or orally administered group (4 mg/kg, oral group). The AUC of the control, the enhancer, the IV, and the oral groups were $20.2{\pm}5.1$, $50.7{\pm}12.7$, $19.9{\pm}2.5$, and $70.5{\pm}17.6\;ug/ml{\cdot}h$ respectively. The average $C_{max}$ of the control and the enhancer group were $0.93{\pm}0.23$ and $2.82{\pm}0.71\;ug/ml$, respectively, and the mean $T_{max}$ of the control and the enhancer group was 7.00 h. The relative bioavailability of the transdermally administered pranoprofen gel containing octanoic acid was approximately 2.50 times higher than the control group, showing a relatively constant, sustained blood concentration with minimal fluctuation. This suggests that it might be feasible to develop a pranoprofen gel preparation containing an enhancer for the transdermal administration, which is more convenient dosage form than the oral dosage forms.