In vitro topical delivery of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs throughhuman skin

The objective of the present study was to evaluate in vitro the percutaneou s absorption, across human skin, of 5 non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) formulated as gels: ketoprofen (CAS 22071-15-4), epolamine diclof enac (CAS 15307-86-5), piroxicam (CAS 36322-90-4) and niflumic acid (CAS 43 94-00-7) or as emulgel: diclofenac sodium (CAS 15307-79-6) and to compare t he different formulations as drug delivery systems. Because the concentrati ons of the NSAIDs in the different excipients were not identical, the compa rison of their diffusional properties was expressed in term of release effi ciency (or diffusion efficacy). The results obtained show that, across huma n skin under standardized experimental conditions, ketoprofen and piroxicam have the best rank order followed by niflumic acid, diclofenac sodium and epolamine diclofenac.