Formulation, Characterization and Ex vivo Evaluation of Epinephrine Transdermal Patches

Abstract

Cardiac arrest is the abrupt loss of heart function in a person who may or may not have been diagnosed with heart disease. Cardiac arrest may be caused by irregular heart rhythms, called arrhythmias. A common arrhythmia associated with cardiac arrest is ventricular fibrillation. Ventricular fibrillation means that the heart's lower chambers suddenly start beating chaotically and don't pump blood. Cardiac arrest is the sudden cessation of cardiac mechanical activity because of dysrhythmia or electromechanical dissociation. Unless reversed within minutes, cardiac arrest results in lethal brain and other end-organ damage. Epinephrine is the primary drug administered during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to reverse cardiac arrest. Epinephrine increases arterial blood pressure and coronary perfusion during CPR via alpha-1-adrenoceptor agonist effects. The main objective of this study was to prepare the optimized formulation of Trandermal patches of epinephrine for the treatment of cardiac arrest. Transdermal drug delivery (TDD) is a non-invasive route of drug administration, although its applications are limited by low skin permeability. It is an attractive alternative technique over the conventional techniques for administration of systemic approaches. For both local and systemic effects skin is the major site of application. However, to penetrate the drug through skin, stratum corneum is the main barrier. This study is further aimed to analyse, concentration of drug reaching in the body and to study its effect.