Design and evaluation of a new transdermal formulation containing chlorpheniramine maleate

The antihistamine chlorpheniramine maleate (CPM) is used for symptomatic re lief of hypersensitive reactions and in pruritic skin disorders. The object ive of the present study was to develop a topical formulation that containe d CPM to increase patient compliance. Compliance was increased by exploitin g foams that, given their application methods, avoid direct contact with th e afflicted area. The study also aimed to optimize the permeability of the CPM by discerning an adequate carrier, as well as choosing the correct enha ncer. The foams were formulated using aqueous solutions. In vitro studies w ere carried out using Franz cells with the formulations, as well as with th e available pharmaceutical product Polarmin Crema(R), which contains CPM. T hese studies showed that the permeability of the CPM in the solutions is in creased more then 100 times with respect to the water-in-oil emulsion Polar min Crema. In particular, the highest permeability was obtained using limon ene as an enhancer.