Evaluation of promoting effects of several transdermal enhancers by efficacy function and distance method

OBJECTIVE To investigate the application of efficacy function and distance method on evaluating synthetically the promotion effect of several transdermal enhancers.METHODS 2% menthol,1% azone and 7% volatile oils of Rhizoma Acori Tatarinowii(RAT) were used as transdermal enhancers.Transdermal absorption experimentation of paracetamol was detected on the device of penetrating skins of rabbit in vitro and penetrating rates,steady fluxes,lag time and enhancement ratio were calculated.The promotion of transdermal enhancers was evaluated by efficacy function and distance method.RESULTSPegarding the promoting effect on paracetamol,2% menthol was the best and 1% azone ranked behind,7%RAT was the worst.CONCLUSION Efficacy function and distance method could be used to evaluate the promoting effects of transdermal enhancers objectively.