Abstract. Viscoelasticity is a useful parameter for characterizing the intrinsic properties of the cross-linked polyacrylate hydrogel used in cataplasm bases. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of various formulation parameters on the rheological characteristics of polyacrylate hydrogel. The hydrogel layers were formed using a partially neutralized polyacrylate (Viscomate ™ ), which contained acrylic acid and sodium acrylate in different copolymerization ratios, as the cross-linked gel framework. Dihydroxyaluminum aminoacetate (DAAA), which produces aluminum ions, was used as the crosslinking agent. Rheological analyses were performed using a "stress amplitude sweep" and a "frequency sweep". The results showed that greater amounts of acrylic acid in the structure of Viscomate as well as higher concentrations of DAAA and Viscomate led to an increase in the elastic modulus (G′). However, greater amounts of acrylic acid in the structure of Viscomate and higher concentrations of DAAA had an opposite on the viscous modulus (G″); this might be owing to higher steric hindrance. The results of this study can serve as guidelines for the optimization of formulations for cataplasms.

The present study examined the effects of lipid vehicle and intestinally based efflux processes on intestinal lymphatic transport of paclitaxel (PTX) in the mesenteric lymph duct-cannulated anesthetized rat model. PTX solution alone, PTX solution pretreated with the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) inhibitor verapamil and/or PTX and a 2:1 (w/w) mixture of linoleic acid:glycerol monooleate were administered intraduodenally to anesthetized rats. Coadministration of a mixture of linoleic acid-monoolein significantly increased the extent of intestinal lymphatic transport of PTX, but it had little impact on the absolute oral bioavailability of PTX. In contrast, pretreatment with verapamil increased both the extent of lymphatic transport (3.5-fold) and absolute oral bioavailability (1.8-fold). Further increase in the lymphatic transport (6.5-fold) and absolute oral bioavailability (1.8-fold) was achieved by the combination of pretreatment with verapamil and coadministration with the linoleic acid-monoolein mixture. These data indicate that the application of lipid vehicle holds promise for selectively targeted lymphatic delivery of PTX. P-gp inhibition can result in both increased intestinal lymphatic levels and absolute oral bioavailability of PTX.