Study on the Transdermal Penetration of Sinomenine Microemulsion and Gel

OBJECTIVE To investigate the transdermal delivery ability of sinomenine microemulsions and gels.METHODS The microemulsions were prepared with the formulation containing oleic acid-tween-80-dehydrated alcohol-water.The permeation flux of sinomenine was determined in vitro using Franz diffusion cell fitted with rat skin.The content of sinomenine was measured by HPLC.The transdermal characteristics of sinomenine microemulsion were compared with sinomenine gels.RESULTS The pemetration rate of sinomenine microemulsion was significantly higher than that of sinomenine gels.The average permeation rate of sinomenine microemulsion was 116.44 μg·cm-2·h-1,sinomenine gel was 89.93 μg·cm-2·h-1 in vitro.CONCLUSION These results indicated that the microemulsion system with high permeation rate may be a potential vehicle for the transdermal delivery of sinomenine.