Investigation of the pharmacokinetics of
paeonol microemulsion, microemulsion-based
gels and marketed
paeonol ointments by the skin-blood synchronous microdialysis coupled with LC/MS is reported in this study. The microdialysis systems were established by linear probes and concentric circles probes. In vivo recovery of
paeonol in skin is (69.7 +/- 4.8) % and in blood is (51.6 +/- 7.2)%. The
paeonol microemulsion, microemulsion-based
gels and marketed
paeonol ointments were administered to rats. PBS (pH 7.4) served as perfused
solution. The perfusion rate was 5 microL x mL(-1) and the microdialysis samples were collected every 20 min intervals. The
paeonol concentration in perfused
solution was determined by LC/MS. The results showed that
paeonol microemulsion and microemulsion-based
gels significantly raised the drug concentrations in skin more than that of
paeonol ointments. The
paeonol microemulsion-based
gels has similar bioavailability as the
paeonol ointments in blood, but its blood drug concentrations were steadier. The
paeonol microemulsion-based
gels may be developed into a new preparation for dermis
eczema. The skin-blood synchronous microdialysis technique proved to be a new method for the pharmacokinetics study of transdermal delivery systems.