Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

Spring 5-31-2016

Degree Name

Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering - (M.S.)

Department

Committee for the Interdisciplinary Program in Materials Science and Engineering

First Advisor

N. M. Ravindra

Second Advisor

Costas G. Gogos

Third Advisor

Nicolas Ioannidis

Fourth Advisor

Michael Jaffe

Abstract

Transdermal Drug Delivery (TDD) through skin patches has many advantages including the following: slow and continuous administration of the therapeutic over long periods of time, timely dosage, accessibility, kinetic maneuverability, elimination of the “First Pass Effect” and negative side effects on the digestive tract. All of the above justify investment into further development of TDD therapies, despite the skin permeability restrictions posed on size and charge by the skin. As skin permeability varies between all individuals based on age, ethnicity and lifestyle, the determination of the proper drug dosages to be contained in the skin patch is highly reliant on clinical trials. The objective of this research is to further investigate the application of components of a modified Duda-Zalinsky Equation (DZE) for drug diffusivity through a polymer matrix, to account for physical enhancers added to the Heated Lidocaine-Tetracaine Patch based on diffusivity results obtained from tests run in a Franz Cell apparatus. Pre-clinical trials computational estimation of the drug’s diffusion properties with respect to the polymer matrix and skin will provide for safer clinical trials, with testing dosages that are closer to the therapeutic drug concentration in the blood.

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