Formulation and Evaluation of Microneedle Patch Raloxifene for Transdermal Drug Delivery

Abstract

Micro needle patches are the novel dosage form in transdermal drug delivery systems with improved penetration to skin. In this study we fabricated micro needle patches containing Raloxifene an immunosuppressant drug by using polymer thiolated chitosan that in turn was developed by adding thiol group to chitosan. These micro needle patches were further evaluated for their mechanical, physical and chemical parameters. The optimized micro needle patch having 225 needles with 665 µm length, 90 µm width showed good penetration i.e 84% and better percent elongation. In-vitro and ex-vivo penetration studies on rat skin using Franz diffusion cell showed sustained release of (85%) Raloxifene in its comparative study with Raloxifene ointment. HPLC analysis also showed 91.7% release of drug from optimized formulation of micro needle patch. Finally the recent progress proved that micro needle patches of thiolated chitosan loaded with Raloxifene for transdermal drug delivery have the potential to show therapeutic outcomes with improved bioavailability and sustained release of drug over a longer period.