• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.47-54
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• 1995

Transdermal patch formulations of estradiol to treat post-menopausal symptoms and prevent osteoporosis in women were developed and evaluated for the permeation characteristics through the excised hairless mouse abdorminal skin and the uterotropic effect on the ovariectomized rabbits. The design of patch formulations was optimized by varying several formulation parameters, such as type of enhancers, amount of enhancers, amount of drug loading and coating thickness. Compared to a commercially available transdermal product, several patch formulations showed the similar skin permeation profiles (following zero-order kinetics), but their skin permeation rates were lasted for the longer period (a week). In one-week uterotropic efficacy test in the ovariectimized rabbits, the selected patch formulations showed the positive effect in atrophy of the urogenital epithelium. The mean values of uterus weight in rabbits after application of patches containing estradiol were much higher than those in control group (containing no drug).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.1486-1491
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• 2004

The estrogenicities of six heavy metal compounds, which contaminate frequently in foods, were assayed using a combination of in vitro and in vivo assays. The assays were 1) estrogen receptor dependent transcriptional expression assay, 2) E-screen assay and, 3) the uterotropic assay in mice. The chemicals studied were 17$\beta$ -estradiol, diethylstilbestrol (DES), arsenic oxide, bis(tri-n-butyltin), cadmium chloride, chromium chloride, lead acetate, and mercuric chloride. Using the estrogen receptor dependent transcriptional expression assay, the following estrogenicity ranking was measured: bis(tri-n-butyltin) > cadmium chloride > chromium chloride >> mercuric chloride >lead acetate = arsenic oxide. Using E-screen test, the following estrogenicity ranking was measured: bis(tri-n-butyltin) > cadmium chloride > chromium chloride >> mercuric chloride > lead acetate = arsenic oxide. Results from the uterotropic assay showed that bis(tri-n-butyltin), cadmium chloride, chromium chloride caused an increase in uterine wet weight, while lead acetate, mercuric chloride, and arsenic oxide failed to do so. Bis(tri-n-butyltin), cadmium chloride and chromium chloride showed the highest estrogenicity in three assay systems. Recent studies suggesting that bis(tri-n-butyltin), cadmium chloride have estrogenicities are compatible with the present finding. Furthermore, our study is suggesting that chromium chloride may be estrogenic. The results demonstrate that this three level-assay combination (transcriptional activation, cell proliferation, and an in vivo effect in an estrogen-responsive tissue) could serve as a useful method to assess the estrogenicity of heavy metals.