Permeation of Ionic Liquids through the skin

Abstract

Alternative forms of drug delivery such as delivery through the skin, have been developed to explore other routes. However, the incorporation of poorly soluble or partially insoluble drugs into these delivery systems represents a major problem. Ionic liquids (ILs) may be incorporated in aqueous, oily or hydroalcoholic solutions and thus, may be used as excipients in drug delivery systems to increase/improve the topical and transdermal drug delivery. However, it is fundamental to consider the cytotoxicity of these salts and it is also crucial to evaluate if these compounds permeate through the skin. Herein, three imidazole-based ILs: [C2mim][Br], [C4mim][Br] and [C6mim][Br], were synthesized and each IL was incorporated within caffeine saturated solutions. Permeation studies of the active (caffeine) in these solutions were performed to evaluate the amount of IL that permeated through the porcine ear skin in the presence of the active. To achieve this, gravimetric studies of the receptor compartment were performed. Results showed that the more lipophilic IL [C6mim][Br] presented the highest permeation through the skin. The permeation is dependent upon the size of the alkyl chain of the IL, and as more than 60% of the ILs permeate is it vital to consider the cytotoxicity of these salts when considering their incorporation in topical systems.