Pharmacokinetics of meloxicam in skin by microdialysis technique

The topical formulation of the meloxicam drug can increase the rate and extent of penetration in the skin to treat arthritis compared to traditional oral dosage forms. The semi-invasive and highly reproducible, microdialysis technique allows direct monitoring of the in-vivo penetration behavior of the drug product. The pharmacokinetic parameters of meloxicam gel with and without permeation enhances was studied using rabbit`s skin as a model. A total of 12 studies using three formulations across four different rabbits were conducted. The retro dialysis technique was used to prove the diffusion process. The In-Vitro RR% (59.52 ± 8.18) was slightly higher than In-Vivo RR% (44.67 ± 6.57). The parameters estimated by non-compartmental analysis were AUC15-180, Cmax and Tmax. No statistically significant differences were found between the formulations and apparently no effect of permeation enhancer was observed. The skin area of exposure, duration of study and reduced dermis clearance played a significant role in the result of this study.