Enhanced Controlled Transdermal Delivery of Hydrochlorothiazide from an Ethylene-vinyl Acetate Matrix

Repeated oral administration of hydrochlorothiazide, a loop diuretic, due to transient high blood levels, may cause adverse effects such as gastric disturbance, nausea, high blood sugar, and hyper lipidemia. Transdermal administration could avoid some of these systemic side effects and gastric disorders. We have developed a matrix using ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), a heat-processible and flexible material, for transdermal delivery of hydrochlorothiazide. Drug solubility was highest at 40% PEG-400 volume fraction. Drug release increased as concentration increased with a linear relationship between the release rate and the square root of loading dose. Increasing temperature increased drug release from the EVA matrix. The activation energy, measured from the slope of log P versus 1000/T, was 11.9 kcal/mol for a 2.5% loading dose from EVA matrix. Diethyl phthalate had the highest plasticizing effects on the release of hydrochlorothiazide. To increase the skin permeation of hydrochlorothiazide from the EVA matrix, enhancers such as the saturated fatty acids, the unsaturated fatty acids, and the non-ionic surfactants were added to the EVA matrix, and skin permeation was evaluated using a modified Keshary-Chien diffusion cell fitted with intact excised rat skin. Polyoxyethylene 23-lauryl ether showed the highest enhancing effects. In conclusion, transdermal delivery of hydrochlorothiazide could be improved from an EVA matrix containing plasticizer and permeation enhancer.