Elastic vesicles of sumatriptan succinate for transdermal administration: characterization and in vitro permeation studies

Abstract

Elastic liposomes, including sumatriptan succinate, were prepared for their transdermal administration. Lipid vesicles containing 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) or l-α-phosphatidylcholine dilauroyl (DLPC) phospholipids were characterized for various parameters, including size, particle-size distribution (i.e., polydispersity index), and elasticity. In vitro transdermal experiments for the study of the skin penetration of sumatriptan succinate contained in liposomes were performed by using flow-through diffusion cells. The diameter of sumatriptan liposomes with different lipid compositions varied between 279 and 282 nm, and the polydispersity index value for the size distribution of liposomal formulations was <0.5. DLPC vesicles proved to be more elastic and provided a higher sumatriptan transdermal flux than vesicles formulated with DOPC phospolipid.

Keywords::

• Ultradeformable liposomes
• skin permeation
• particle size
• polydispersity index
• elasticity

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo) (PI 060108) and the Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera for their financial support.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.