Hydrogel Patches for Transdermal Drug Delivery; In-vivo Water Exchange and Skin Compatibility

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Abstract
Hydrogel patches based on water swellable polyacrylates have been developed for long-term transdermal drug delivery. Two properties, relevant to the performance of hydrogel patches in-vivo have been investigated in humans over five days. These were: (i) the kinetics of water exchange between the skin and the patches; (ii) the skin compatibility of the patches. It was found that initially there was a gradually increasing uptake of water from the skin by the patches, but after about 20 h the water exchange followed a regular fluctuating pattern, peaking once a day and once a night. The skin compatibility of the patches was satisfactory, in that no redness or pustulation was noticed throughout the five days. This was most likely due to the capability of the patches to exchange water with the skin.