Evaluation of Topical Dispenser Systems for Vaginal Delivery of Feminine Medications

Abstract

The vaginal route of administration has a large surface area with a rich blood supply demonstrating capacity for local absorption and systemic bioavailability of drugs. However, there are problems associated with current vaginal delivery method in terms of dosing precision and accuracy. In this report, the potential utility of the metered-dose Topi-CLICK® Perl™ system for vaginal delivery of feminine medication is presented. The aim was to evaluate the efficiency of Topi-CLICK® Perl™ for dosing accuracy, precision, and residual waste of medicaments relative to currently available dispensing systems. The results showed Topi-CLICK® Perl™ system to have the highest accuracy for a dose being correctly delivered more than 88% of the time. Whereas other commonly used dispenser systems, such as plastic or metal (aluminum) ointment tubes with smooth or ribbed applicators, exhibited not more than 10% of doses being within acceptable limits for accuracy. Medication waste was significantly minimized using Topi-CLICK® Perl™, which has an estimated overfill volume less than 6%. This required overfill volume ranged from 39% to 88% respectively, for the plastic and metal ointment tubes. Qualitatively, operators of Topi-CLICK® Perl™ found the metered-dose system the easiest to use with little mess. Based on these results, Topi-CLICK® Perl™ outperformed other traditional dispensing systems for vaginal drug delivery in accuracy and precision, with the least amount of residual medication waste.