Glycerol monooleate/solvents systems for progesterone transdermal delivery: In vitro permeation and microscopic studies

Abstract

Transdermal delivery of most drugs is precluded by the barrier characteristics of the stratum corneum (SC). Chemical penetration enhancers are capable of interacting with SC constituents, inducing a temporary reversible increase in the skin permeability. The aim of this work was to assess the influence of glycerol monooleate (GMO)/solvents systems on percutaneous absorption across hairless mouse SC of lipophilic drug, progesterone (PG), as well as its effect on the SC structural characteristics, by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The morphological changes observed in the hairless mouse SC suggest a GMO effect on the skin barrier. In addition, the increase in the in vitro PG flux and in vivo penetration of a fluorescent label point towards GMO as potential absorption enhancer. The results obtained showed that GMO/solvents systems provoked changes in the SC that could be causing increased penetration of PG across hairless mouse skin, optimising in this way the transdermal delivery of this drug.