Transdermal permeation of trimetazidine from nerodilol-based HPMC gel drug reservoir system across rat epidermis.

OBJECTIVE To study the in vitro transdermal permeation of trimetazidine from hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC) gel drug reservoir system using nerodilol as a penetration enhancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS An HPMC gel containing selected concentrations of nerodilol (0, 2, 4 or 5% w/v) and 2.5% w/v of trimetazidine was prepared, and subjected to in vitro permeation studies across rat epidermis. The amount of trimetazidine permeated at different time intervals (1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 18 and 24 h) was estimated, and the data were analyzed to calculate various permeation parameters. RESULTS There was an increase in the amount of trimetazidine (8,719.7 +/- 153.3 microg/cm(2))permeated across the rat epidermis up to 24 h (Q(24)) with an increase in nerodilol concentration (5% w/v) in HPMC gel drug reservoir. However, no significant difference (p > 0.05) was observed in the amount of drug permeated (Q(24)) with 5% w/v of nerodilol when compared to that obtained with 4% w/v of nerodilol (8,484.5 +/- 165.8 microg/cm(2)). Nerodilol, at a concentration of 4% w/v enhanced the flux of trimetazidine across rat epidermis by about 1.96 times when compared to control. CONCLUSION The HPMC gel drug reservoir containing 4% w/v of nerodilol showed optimal transdermal permeation of trimetazidine.