Enhanced Transdermal Delivery of Granisetron by Using Iontophoresis

The purpose of the present study was to explore the passive and electrically assisted transdermal transport of Granisetron hydrochloride (GRA) in solution and gel formulation through iontophoresis and also the feasibility of delivering therapeutic amounts of drug for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. In this study, iontophoretic permeation of GRA through guinea pig skin using silver-silver chloride electrode was performed and the effects of different variables on this phenomenon were evaluated. Preliminary in-vitro studies using aqueous GRA formulations investigating the effect of drug concentration (5, 10, 15 and 20 mg mL(-1)) on passive permeation, current density (0.2, 0.4 and 0.5 mA cm(-2)), mode of current application, penetration enhancers and effect of application duration were performed. As expected, GRA delivery was found to be increased with the elevation in drug concentration and current density. Anodal continuous current delivery was more effective in the permeation of GRA than the pulsed current method. Penetration enhancers were ineffective to show synergistic effect in conjunction with iontophoresis. It was evident that reservoir in the skin was not formed during the iontophoretic delivery. The results confirm that GRA is an excellent candidate for iontophoresis. The present study demonstrated the feasibility of GRA transdermal transport through the Lutrol F-127 gel by iontophoresis. Further in-vivo studies will be required to support in-vitro conclusions and develop in-vitro, in-vivo correlations.