Development of a Transdermal Antipyretic Prodrug Delivery System for Infant Ambulatory Care
Abstract
Treating pediatric patients can be challenging due to distress caused by illness which complicates medication administration and adherence. A transdermal delivery strategy using an antipyretic prodrug was explored to address limitations associated with oral dosing while enabling sustained drug exposure and reducing the need of maintenance dosing. Prototype patches were fabricated through systematic evaluation of formulation and process variables, including adhesive class, release liner and backing membranes, drug loading, coating thickness, excipient strategies, and homogenization parameters. Patch performance was tested across dermatomed human skin (n=6) using Franz cell diffusion studies and analyzed for the prodrug and active drug using validated high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods for the individual drugs. The HPLC method used an Agilent Eclipse Plus C18 (5 µm, 4.6 × 250 mm) column with a mobile phase of HPLC water containing trifluoroacetic acid (pH 3.0) and acetonitrile (80:20). The method showed linearity over 0.1–10 µg/mL (R² = 0.999), with the limit of detection and quantification of 0.09 µg/mL and 0.27 µg/mL, respectively. For patch improvements, silicone adhesive (481.37 ± 103.67 µg/cm2) significantly enhanced the total drug permeation as compared to the acrylate adhesive (39.40 ± 19.99 µg/cm2) over 24 hours. Increasing drug loading within a ~20–25% range and coating thickness between ~30–45 mils enhanced permeation, with the most pronounced increases observed between 4–8 hours after application. Amongst different enhancers tested- dimethyl sulfoxide, oleic acid, dimethyl isosorbide (DMI), glyceryl monooleate, DMI seems to have demonstrated the greatest effect on drug permeation over 24 hours. Ongoing work is focused on refinement of enhancer ratios and process design to further increase the transdermal flux to meet therapeutic dose requirements. Collectively, these findings are being patented and demonstrate progress toward a pediatric-focused transdermal antipyretic platform while highlighting the remaining engineering challenges prior to clinical translation.
Start Time
15-4-2026 11:00 AM
End Time
15-4-2026 12:00 PM
Room Number
303
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Presentation Subtype
Grad/Comp Orals
Presentation Category
Health
Student Type
Graduate
Faculty Mentor
Ashana Puri
Development of a Transdermal Antipyretic Prodrug Delivery System for Infant Ambulatory Care
303
Treating pediatric patients can be challenging due to distress caused by illness which complicates medication administration and adherence. A transdermal delivery strategy using an antipyretic prodrug was explored to address limitations associated with oral dosing while enabling sustained drug exposure and reducing the need of maintenance dosing. Prototype patches were fabricated through systematic evaluation of formulation and process variables, including adhesive class, release liner and backing membranes, drug loading, coating thickness, excipient strategies, and homogenization parameters. Patch performance was tested across dermatomed human skin (n=6) using Franz cell diffusion studies and analyzed for the prodrug and active drug using validated high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods for the individual drugs. The HPLC method used an Agilent Eclipse Plus C18 (5 µm, 4.6 × 250 mm) column with a mobile phase of HPLC water containing trifluoroacetic acid (pH 3.0) and acetonitrile (80:20). The method showed linearity over 0.1–10 µg/mL (R² = 0.999), with the limit of detection and quantification of 0.09 µg/mL and 0.27 µg/mL, respectively. For patch improvements, silicone adhesive (481.37 ± 103.67 µg/cm2) significantly enhanced the total drug permeation as compared to the acrylate adhesive (39.40 ± 19.99 µg/cm2) over 24 hours. Increasing drug loading within a ~20–25% range and coating thickness between ~30–45 mils enhanced permeation, with the most pronounced increases observed between 4–8 hours after application. Amongst different enhancers tested- dimethyl sulfoxide, oleic acid, dimethyl isosorbide (DMI), glyceryl monooleate, DMI seems to have demonstrated the greatest effect on drug permeation over 24 hours. Ongoing work is focused on refinement of enhancer ratios and process design to further increase the transdermal flux to meet therapeutic dose requirements. Collectively, these findings are being patented and demonstrate progress toward a pediatric-focused transdermal antipyretic platform while highlighting the remaining engineering challenges prior to clinical translation.
