Abstract
The Eudragit RL 100 and propylene glycol (PG) membranes with and without cholesteryl oleyl carbonate (COC) were prepared by the solvent casting method to pioneer a novel application of a thermo-sensitive drug delivery system. After that, the properties of these membranes were investigated by thermal, scanning, and porosity studies. Drug permeation studies through all membranes were carried out using salbuthamol sulphate (SBS) at constant temperatures (25°C and 37°C), respectively. The permeability of SBS through the membranes with COC has been shown to be a discontinuous function of temperature, that is, their permeability increased steeply above the phase transition temperature (37°C) of the COC. The thermo-sensitive permeation mechanism for the membranes might be based on the structure change of the membranes caused by the phase transition, so that the membranes could absorb more water. Considering the high biological safety of Eudragit RL 100 and PG membranes with and without COC might be used to develop a novel thermo-sensitive drug delivery system.