Transdermal Delivery of Aceclofenac through Rat Skin from Various Formulations: A Comparative Study

Summary The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the in vitro and in vivo transdermal potential of gel (G) and patch formulation (P) for aceclofenac (AC). The effect of different penetration enhancers were also examined when it was added to the formulations. To study the in vitro potential of these formulations, permeation studies were performed with Franz diffusion cells using excised dorsal rat skin. To investigate their in vivo performance, a carrageenan-induced rat paw edema model was used. The commercial formulation of aceclofenac (C) was used as a reference formulation. The in vitro permeation studies found that G was superior to P and C and that adding permeation enhancer to the formulations increased the permeation rate. The permeability coefficients (Kp) of AC from G and P were higher (Kp = 0.3465*10 −2 cm/h and 0.228 *10 −2 cm/h respectively than the Kp of AC from C = 0.1314 *10 −2 cm/h. In the paw edema test, G showed the best permeation and effectiveness. The in vitro and in vivo studies showed that G could be a new, alternative dosage form for effective therapy.