Release characteristics of anionic drug compounds from liquid crystalline gels. Part II. The effects of ion pairing and buffering on the passive delivery of anionic drugs across non-rate-limiting membranes

This is the second in a series of papers that report on the release and transport of a range of anionic drugs (diclofenac, salicylic acid) from liquid crystalline gels and ultimately on their use in transdermal delivery. The previous paper [Fitzpatrick, D., Corish, J., 2005. Release characteristics of anionic drug compounds from liquid crystalline gels for transdermal delivery. Part I. Passive release across non-rate limiting membranes. Int. J. Pharm. 301, 226-236] investigated passive release profiles across a non-rate-limiting membrane: here we report on the search for a suitable model enhancer (benzyl dimethyldodecyl ammonium bromide) for the transdermal delivery of anionic compounds. The results presented reveal a significant role for ion pairing and for buffering, analogous to those found in the investigations of cationic species (salbutamol) by Nolan, L.M.A., Corish, J., Corrigan, O.I., Fitzpatrick, D., 2003. Iontophoretic and chemical enhancement of drug delivery. Part I. Across artificial membranes. Int. J. Pharm. 12, 41-55. The method of vehicle preparation is also investigated. It is shown that ion pairing of the drug with the enhancer decreases the amount of drug available for transport from the liquid crystalline gels into aqueous receptor media. This decrease is directly related to the ratio of the concentration of drug to that of the enhancer. Buffering the vehicle inhibits the ion-pair formation to some extent. Vehicle preparation was also found to influence the degree of ion-pair association. The inclusion of a similarly charged enhancer (oleic acid) to the drug was found not to impede the diffusion of the drug from the gels.     

Influence of Drug Lipophilicity on Drug Release from Sclera After Iontophoretic Delivery of Mixed Micellar Carrier System to Human Sclera

Mixed micelles prepared using sodium taurocholate (TA) and egg lecithin (LE) were previously found to be an effective carrier for sustained release of a poorly water-soluble drug in transscleral iontophoretic delivery. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the effects of drug lipophilicity upon micellar carrier solubilization potential and drug release profiles from the sclera after iontophoretic delivery of model lipophilic drugs dexamethasone (DEX), triamcinolone acetonide (TRIAM), and β-estradiol (E2β) with a mixed micellar carrier system of TA–LE (1:1 mole ratio). In this study, the micellar carrier system was characterized for drug solubilization. The micelles encapsulating these drugs were evaluated for transscleral passive and 2-mA iontophoretic delivery (both cathodal and anodal) and drug release from excised human sclera in vitro. The results show that drug solubility enhancement of the micellar carrier system increased with increasing drug lipophilicity. The more lipophilic drugs E2β and TRIAM displayed slower drug release from the sclera compared with the less lipophilic drug DEX after iontophoretic drug delivery with the mixed micelles. These results suggest that the combination of transscleral iontophoresis and micellar carriers is more effective in sustaining transscleral delivery of the more lipophilic drugs studied in this investigation. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 102:480–488, 2013     

Bioadhesive microspheres as a controlled drug delivery system

The concept of controlled drug delivery has been traditionally used to obtain specific release rates or spatial targeting of active ingredients. The phenomenon of bioadhesion, introduced by Park and Robinson [Park, K., Robinson, J.R., 1984. Bioadhesive polymers as platforms for oral controlled drug delivery: method to study bioadhesion. Int. J. Pharm. 198, 107-127], has been studied extensively in the last decade and applied to improve the performance of these drug delivery systems. Recent advances in polymer science and drug carrier technologies have promulgated the development of novel drug carriers such as bioadhesive microspheres that have boosted the use of "bioadhesion" in drug delivery. This article presents the spectrum of potential applications of bioadhesive microspheres in controlled drug delivery ranging from the small molecules, to peptides, and to the macromolecular drugs such as proteins, oligonucleotides and even DNA. The development of mucus or cell-specific bioadhesive polymers and the concepts of cytoadhesion and bioinvasion provide unprecedented opportunities for targeting drugs to specific cells or intracellular compartments. Developments in the techniques for in vitro and in vivo evaluation of bioadhesive microspheres have also been discussed.     

Iontophoretically Enhanced Ciclopirox Delivery into and Across Human Nail Plate

Transungual delivery of antifungal drugs is hindered by the low permeability of human nail plates, and as such, repeated dosing over a long period of time is necessary for effective treatment. The objectives of this study were to explore the possibilities of (a) enhancing the delivery of ciclopirox (CIC) across human nail plates and (b) sustaining CIC delivery from the larger resultant drug depot in the nail plates with constant voltage iontophoresis. In vitro passive and 9 V cathodal iontophoretic transport experiments of CIC across human nails were performed. Transungual CIC delivery with Penlac® was the control. The amounts of CIC released from and deposited in the nails were determined in drug release and extraction experiments, respectively. Iontophoresis increased the flux of CIC permeated across the nail approximately 10 times compared to passive delivery from the same formulation or from Penlac®. A significant amount of CIC was loaded into and released from the nails; the CIC concentrations were estimated to be above the minimum inhibitory concentrations of CIC for dermatophytic molds. The apparent transport lag time decreased in iontophoretic transport. The results demonstrate that iontophoresis was able to deliver an effective amount of CIC into and across the nails, and this suggests the feasibility of a constant voltage battery-powered transungual iontophoretic device. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 98:3608–3616, 2009     

Combined effects of iontophoretic and chemical enhancement on drug delivery. II. Transport across human and murine skin

This paper reports measurements of the release characteristics of the model drug salbutamol from a liquid crystalline vehicle across both human and hairless murine skin in vitro. The use of oleic acid and iontophoresis as penetration enhancement techniques, used separately and simultaneously, was also investigated. Over a period of 12h, salbutamol base did not diffuse from the vehicle across excised human skin while, in contrast, over a period of 2h, the drug passively transported across hairless murine skin. The diffusion co-efficient for the drug in this tissue was estimated to be 4.54+/-0.60x10(-9)cm(2)s(-1) with a permeability co-efficient of 7.03+/-0.83x10(-7)cms(-1). A current of density of 0.39mAcm(-2) facilitated a significant transport of salbutamol from the liquid crystalline vehicle across excised human skin but with a small (<0.1) transport number. The quantity of salbutamol transported across excised hairless murine skin under the same conditions was significantly greater with a transport number of 0.68. The alteration of the permeability of the tissue was less than that of the human skin and a full recovery of the pre-iontophoretic permeability of murine skin was consistently observed. The incorporation of either oleic or lauric acid into the monoglyceride component of the vehicle at a concentration of 0.1M had a marked effect on the transport of salbutamol across both human and murine skin. The initial passive permeation of the drug across the skin was not affected but the rate of drug delivery during iontophoresis was typically observed to increase by a factor greater than two. The post-iontophoretic transport of salbutamol across either tissue was also substantially enhanced in the presence of the fatty acid. The analogous use of stearic acid did not significantly influence the iontophoretic or the post-iontophoretic transport of salbutamol across excised human skin. The investigation also revealed a synergistic combination of the fatty acid and anodal iontophoresis to enhance the in vitro transport of other drug substances, including nicotine and diltiazem hydrochloride across murine skin. Oleic acid increased both the iontophoretic and post-iontophoretic transport of nicotine, so that the enhancement of drug delivery was greater than that caused by the current alone. The investigation also indicated that the barrier properties of the skin recover following the constant current iontophoresis in the presence of oleic or lauric acids.     

Use of Caco-2 cells and LC/MS/MS to screen a peptide combinatorial library for permeable structures

The transepithelial transport of a synthetic peptide combinatorial library containing 375,000 individual peptides was assessed using Caco-2 cell monolayers in order to screen for permeability and deliverability. A series of 150 pools, each containing 2500 tripeptide sequences, were applied to the apical side of Caco-2 monolayers. Basolateral side samples were collected after 4 h and screened by capillary high-pressure liquid chromatography. The majority of pools showed no permeable species, due to low solubility, limited permeability and extensive metabolism. Several pools contained permeable structure, and transport proved reproducible with passage number and time. Permeable structures were identified by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). To discriminate between isobaric structures, several tripeptides were resynthesized and tested as discrete compounds. For example, 1-2% D-Phe-D-Ala-D-Ser-OH was transported across the Caco-2 cell monolayer with a Papp value of 0.35-0.69 x 10(-6) cm/s, which is comparable with the permeability of amino acids (Leu, Papp = 0.30 x 10(-6) cm/s) and dipeptides (L-Val-L-Val, Papp = 0.18 x 10(-6) cm/s) (Lennernas, H., Palm, K., Fagerholm, U., Artursson, P., 1996. Comparison between active and passive drug transport in human intestinal epithelial (Caco-2) cells in vitro and human jejunum in vivo. Int. J. Pharm. 127, 103-107; Tamura, K., Bhatnagar, P.K., Takata, J.S., Lee, C.P., Smith, P.L., Borchardt, R.T., 1996. Metabolism, uptake, and transepithelial transport of the diastereomers of Val-Val in the human intestinal cell line Caco-2. Pharm. Res. 13, 1213-1218). These studies demonstrate the techniques used to screen combinatorial libraries for permeability across Caco-2 cells and structurally identify the resulting compounds. Such methodology can be of importance in the achievement of structure-permeability relationships, useful in the design of pharmaceutically bioavailable drugs.     

Release characteristics of anionic drug compounds from liquid crystalline gels I: Passive release across non-rate-limiting membranes

Liquid crystalline gels (LCG) offer the formulator dynamic and flexible vehicles, into which actives, enhancers and other adjuvants with a wide range of physicochemical properties can be incorporated. This is achievable because of the biphasic oil/water composition of the gel. In this paper, the suitability of an isotropic liquid crystalline gel is investigated for a range of anionic drug molecules, with particular emphasis on sodium diclofenac. Parameters, which have been investigated, include the mode of vehicle preparation, the effect of the concentration of the drug and how buffering the gel and/or the receptor medium affect the release profiles. Such profiles have been measured for the sodium salts of benzoate, salicylate and indomethacin. The passive release from the standard system was found to adhere to matrix-controlled diffusion. An increase in concentration leads to a non-linear increase in the cumulative release of sodium diclofenac from the gels. In direct contrast to the result reported for cationic salbutamol base, optimum release from the gel was achieved when neither the receptor medium nor the aqueous phase of the gel was buffered. The percentages released of the sodium salts of benzoate, salicylate and indomethacin, after 24 h, were determined to be 25, 26 and 19%, respectively, and these are significantly greater than the release of sodium diclofenac. This suggests that diclofenac undergoes ion-pairing or complexation within the gel, which inhibits its diffusion from the vehicle. Future papers will report on the incorporation of enhancers and the effects of iontophoresis on the release profiles of drugs from these gels, and ultimately on the transdermal transport of drugs from these vehicles across human and porcine skin.     

Iontophoresis - an approach for controlled drug delivery: a review

The recent approval of lidocaine hydrochloride and epinephrine combined iontophoretic patch (Lidosite Vysteris Inc.) for localized pain treatment by FDA has invigorated the gaining interest in iontophoretic drug delivery systems for the transdermal delivery of drugs. This technique of facilitated movement of ions across a membrane under the influence of an externally applied electric potential difference, is one of the most promising physical skin penetration enhancing method. The rationale behind using this technique is the capability of this method to increase the systemic delivery of high molecular weight compounds with controlled input kinetics and minimum inter-subject variability, which is otherwise achieved only when parentral route of administration is used. Recently, good permeation of larger peptides like insulin has been achieved through this technique in combination with chemical enhancers. This review briefly describes the factors which affect iontophoretic drug delivery and summarizes the studies conducted recently using this technique in order to achieve higher systemic absorption of the drugs having low passive diffusion otherwise. The effect of permeation enhancers (chemical enhancers) on iontophoretic flux of drugs has also been described. Present review also provides an insight into reverse iontophoresis. Various parameters which affect the transdermal absorption of drugs through iontophoresis like drug concentration, polarity of drugs, pH of donor solution, presence of co-ions, ionic strength, electrode polarity etc. have also been reviewed in detail.     

Iontophoretic and chemical enhancement of drug delivery. Part I: across artificial membranes

This paper reports on measurements of the release characteristics of the model drug salbutamol base from a liquid crystalline vehicle across a non-rate limiting synthetic membrane. The measured passive release rates were compared with analogous behaviour: (i) when a penetration enhancer such as oleic acid was incorporated into the vehicle; (ii) when the release was iontophoretically assisted; and (iii) when the penetration enhancer and iontophoretic assistance were used simultaneously. The effects of using isotonic phosphate buffer solution as the aqueous domain of the vehicle and in the receptor were also separately assessed. The passive release from the standard system was consistent with matrix diffusion control. The addition of oleic acid indicated association of the drug with the fatty acid so that its release into an aqueous medium was significantly retarded. With buffer ions present in the vehicle the release rate increased consistent with reduced association, and when phosphate buffer was used as a receptor medium the release rate exceeded that of the standard vehicle due to an ion exchange process. The delivery of salbutamol from the fatty acid containing systems was substantially enhanced by iontophoresis and the rates were shown to be approximately proportional to the assisting currents. The data clearly indicate the iontophoretic process to be significantly less efficient in the presence of buffer ions but with the iontophoretic delivery rates being enhanced by the presence of a fatty acid.     

In Vitro Release from Reverse Poloxamine/α-Cyclodextrin Matrices: Modelling and Comparison of Dissolution Profiles

Gels obtained by complexation of octablock star polyethylene oxide/polypropylene oxide copolymers (Tetronic 90R4) with α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) were evaluated as matrices for drug release. Both molecules are biocompatible so they can be potentially applied to drug delivery systems. Two different types of matrices of Tetronic 90R4 and α-CD were evaluated: gels and tablets. These gels are capable to gelifying in situ and show sustained erosion kinetics in aqueous media. Tablets were prepared by freeze-drying and comprising the gels. Using these two different matrices, the release of two model molecules, L-tryptophan (Trp), and a protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA), was evaluated. The release profiles of these molecules from gels and tablets prove that they are suitable for sustained delivery. Mathematical models were applied to the release curves from tablets to elucidate the drug delivery mechanism. Good correlations were found for the fittings of the release curves to different equations. The results point that the release of Trp from different tablets is always governed by Fickian diffusion, whereas the release of BSA is governed by a combination of diffusion and tablet erosion. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 103:197–206, 2014     

Iontophoretic drug delivery across human nail

Topical trans-nail delivery of antifungal drugs is limited by several physicochemical and physiological factors. Use of chemical permeation enhancers has been a common approach for enhancing trans-nail delivery of drugs. The potential of physical permeation enhancement techniques has been found to be higher than the potential of chemical permeation enhancers in transdermal delivery of hydrophilic drugs and macromolecular therapeutic agents. However, application of physical permeation enhancement techniques has not been explored for trans-nail drug delivery. In the current work, iontophoresis was applied across human nail in vitro to assess its efficiency in enhancing drug delivery. Salicylic acid (SA) was used as test diffusant. The influence of pH, ionic strength, and current density was studied. Obviously, increase in current density increased the trans-nail transport flux. It appears that about 50-100 mM ionic strength is required for optimal conduction of electric current across nail. The flux enhancement factor (iontophoretic flux/passive flux) also increased with increase in pH due to increased ionization of SA. This study demonstrates the efficacy of iontophoresis in enhancing the trans-nail delivery of drugs.     

Liquid Crystalline Systems of Phytantriol and Glyceryl Monooleate Containing a Hydrophilic Protein: Characterisation,Swelling and Release Kinetics

Swelling and phase behaviour of phytantriol and glyceryl monooleate (GMO) matrices with varying water loadings were investigated. Release of a model protein, FITC-Ova was subsequently examined. Polarised light microscopy and small angle X-ray scattering analysis showed that the addition of FITC-Ova only altered the liquid crystalline structure of phytantriol matrices at low water loadings, and that postrelease study, the phase structure of matrices at both low and high loading reflected that of the binary system. Addition of FITC-Ova to GMO matrices also altered the liquid crystalline structure when compared to the respective binary system at low but not at high loading. All samples analysed after the release study had transformed to the reverse hexagonal phase (H_II). Swelling studies revealed a faster and more extensive swelling of GMO when compared to phytantriol. Release of FITC-Ova from phytantriol matrices was faster and occurred to a greater extent most likely due to the conversion of GMO matrices into the H_II phase. No effect on release as a function of initial water content was observed for either lipid. We have confirmed that phytantriol based liquid crystalline matrices can sustain the release of a hydrophilic protein, suggesting its suitability as a potential sustained antigen-delivery system. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 98:4191–4204, 2009     

Experimental determination of the diffusion boundary layer width of micron and submicron particles

Powder dissolution kinetics have shown that for particles in the so called "large" size regime (more than about 50 microm), the dissolution rate scales as the specific surface area, i.e. rate proportional to d(-1) where d is the particle diameter. This is consistent with an effective diffusion boundary layer width h(EFF) that is constant with respect to particle size. However, for particles in the so called "small" size regime (d less than about 50 microm), the dissolution rate has a stronger dependence than proportional to d(-1) [Bisrat, M., Anderberg, E.K., Barnett, M.I., Nystroem, C., 1992. Physicochemical aspects of drug release. XV. Investigation of diffusional transport in dissolution of suspended, sparingly soluble drugs. Int. J. Pharm., 80, 191-201; Mosharraf, M., Nystroem, C., 1995. The effect of particle size and shape on the surface specific dissolution rate of microsized practically insoluble drugs. Int. J. Pharm., 122, 35-47]. In this regime, Prandtl boundary layer theory predicts an h(EFF) approximately equal to the particle radius or diameter. This paper presents the first experimental determination of h(EFF) for particles less than about 2 microm. The powder dissolution kinetics of six suspensions over the particle diameter range of 5.9 +/- 0.1 to 0.53 +/- 0.05 microm are analyzed to yield h(EFF) values of 8.5 +/- 1.9 to 0.34 +/- 0.14 microm. The theoretical expectation for mass transport, dissolution time proportional to d(2.0), is in good agreement with the experimental results of dissolution time proportional to d(2.3). An understanding of these mass transfer mechanisms allows pharmaceutical scientists to achieve targeted release rates with minimum ensemble instability.     

多肽蛋白质类药物离子导入经皮给药的研究进展

论述了多肽蛋白质类药物离子导入经皮给药的特点及主要影响因素,重点介绍了近年来国际上对胰岛素、降血钙素、促黄体(生成)激素释放激素、精氨酸抗利尿激素(加压素)等多肽蛋白质类药物离子导入经皮给药的研究进展.     

Influence of pH on Transungual Passive and Iontophoretic Transport

The present study investigated the effects of pH on nail permeability and the transport of ions such as sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl) ions endogenous to nail and hydronium and hydroxide ions present at low and high pH, which might compete with drug transport across hydrated nail plate during iontophoresis. Nail hydration and passive transport of water across the nail at pH 1–13 were assessed. Subsequently, passive and iontophoretic transport experiments were conducted using ²²Na and ³⁶Cl ions under various pH conditions. Nail hydration was independent of pH under moderate pH conditions and increased significantly under extreme pH conditions (pH >11). Likewise, nail permeability for water was pH independent at pH 1–10 and an order of magnitude higher at pH 13. The results of passive and iontophoretic transport of Na and Cl ions are consistent with the permselective property of nail. Interestingly, extremely acidic conditions (e.g., pH 1) altered nail permselectivity with the effect lasting several days at the higher pH conditions. Hydronium and hydroxide ion competition in iontophoretic transport was generally negligible at pH 3–11 was significant at the extreme pH conditions studied. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 99: 1955–1967, 2010     

Release of salicylic acid, diclofenac acid and diclofenac acid salts from isotropic and anisotropic nonionic surfactant systems across rat skin

Release of salicylic acid, diclofenac acid, diclofenac diethylamine and diclofenac sodium, from lyotropic structured systems, namely; neat and middle liquid crystalline phases, across mid-dorsal hairless rat skin into aqueous buffer were studied. Release results were compared with those from the isotropic systems. The donor systems composed of the surfactant polyoxyethylene (20) isohexadecyl ether, HCl buffer of pH 1 or distilled water and the specific drug. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods were used to monitor the transfer of the drugs across the skin barrier. Results indicated that the rate-determining step in the transport process was the release of the drug from the specified donor system. Further, apparent zero order release was demonstrated with all systems. Except for diclofenac sodium, drug fluxes decreased as the donor medium changed from isotropic to anisotropic. The decrease in fluxes was probably due to the added constrains on the movement of drug molecules. By changing the anisotropic donor medium from neat to middle phase, drug flux decreased in case of salicylic acid and diclofenac sodium. In the mean time, flux increased in case of the diethylamine salt and appeared nearly similar in case of diclofenac acid. Rates of drug transfer across the skin from the anisotropic donors seemed to be largely controlled by the entropy contribution to the transport process. The type and extent of drug-liquid crystal interactions probably influenced the latter.     

In vitro drug release mechanism and drug loading studies of cubic phase gels

Glyceryl monooleate/water cubic phase systems were investigated as drug delivery systems, using salicylic acid as a model drug. The liquid crystalline phases formed by the glyceryl monooleate (GMO)/water systems were characterized by polarizing microscopy. In vitro drug release studies were performed and the influences of initial water content, swelling and drug loading on the drug release properties were evaluated. Water uptake followed second-order swelling kinetics. In vitro release profiles showed Fickian diffusion control and were independent on the initial water content and drug loading, suggesting GMO cubic phase gels suitability for use as drug delivery system.     

Drug Delivery via Ion Exchange Across a Micromembrane

The exchange of pharmaceutically significant amounts of dopamine across a micromembrane is reported, establishing the practical basis for such a drug delivery system. Drug release was accomplished with a commercially available device initially intended for use as a postcolumn reactor in ion chromatography. Release of other ionic drugs (e.g., methyldopate and piperacillin) was also achieved but with a lesser efficiency than was dopamine, presumably because of a size effect. The effect of releasing ion identification and concentration, the flow rate of the delivery solution and concentration of drug in the device reservoir on the drug release efficiency was examined. Under optimal conditions the efficiency approaches 80%, and 1 mg of drug is released/ml of delivery solution. Alternatively, operating conditions can be changed so that magnitude of release is optimized but absolute efficiency is sacrificed. Under such conditions the magnitude of dopamine release approaches 2 mg/ml but exchange efficiency is approximately 25%.     

Tableting Lipid-Based Formulations for Oral Drug Delivery: A Case Study with Silica Nanoparticle–Lipid–Mannitol Hybrid Microparticles

Silica–lipid–mannitol hybrid (SLMH) microparticles have been developed that were compressible into high quality tablets suitable for oral dosing and delivery of poorly soluble drugs. SLMH tablets enable high lipid-loading levels (>40%) and retain the immediate release, enhanced lipase digestion and drug solubilisation performance. Specifically, we report formulation optimisation of SLMH microparticles and tablets using coumarin 102 (log P = 4.09) as a model Biopharmaceutics Classification System class II drug. SLMH tablets were acceptable according to standard British Pharmacopoeia friability, hardness and disintegration tests; this is not the case for conventional dry emulsions. Furthermore, in vitro dissolution and pancreatic-lipase-induced lipolysis studies under simulated intestinal conditions have demonstrated enzymatic-digestion-mediated drug solubilisation. SLMH microparticles and tablets are suitable as liquid lipid containing solid dosage forms for enhancing and controlling oral absorption of poorly soluble drugs. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 102:684–693, 2013     

A novel method to enhance the efficiency of drug transdermal iontophoresis delivery by using complexes of drug and ion-exchange fibers

The main reason for generally low efficiency of the transdermal iontophoretic drug delivery is that the fraction of the total current contributed by the drug ions is very small. The objective of this study was to find a method to increase the fraction of the total current contributed by the drug ions so as to enhance the drug's iontophoretic delivery. Iontophoretic transport of diclofenac solution and diclofenac assisted by ion exchange materials, including ion-exchange resin, ion-exchange membrane and ion-exchange fiber, across the rat skin were investigated. Both in vitro and in vivo iontophoretic transport experiments showed the amount of diclofenac permeated across rat skin from the diclofenac-fibers was highest among those from the diclofenac simple solutions and ion exchange materials complexes. The results of this study suggested that there is an enhancement of drug across rat skin by ion-exchange fibers in ion-exchange fibers assisted iontophoresis. The present study has demonstrated the potential of a new approach using ion-exchange fibers to enhance transdermal iontophoretic transport of an ionizable drug.