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An Investigation Of In Vitro Percutaneous Penetration Enhancement Of Benzocaine By Azone, Dimethylsulfoxide, And 2-Pyrrolidone, Amal Y. Benkorah

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This research utilizing full thickness human abdominal skin was designed to assess the in vitro percutaneous penetration of benzocaine by 1-dodecylazacycloheptan-2-one (Azone) , dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and 2-pyrrolidone (2-P) under conditions of constant thermodynamic activity in the vehicle. The solubilities of benzocaine in Azone and 80/20, 60/40 and 40/60 V/V DMSO/water systems were found to be 254.17, 533.00, 68.60 and 2.51 mg/ml respectively. All three adjuvants demonstrated a significant but concentration- dependent enhancement of benzocaine penetration. On the basis of comparative analysis of the steady-state fluxes, Azone was most effective at the level of 5% V/V when drug concentration was twice …