Transdermal delivery of naltrexone and its active metabolite 6-beta-naltrexol in human skin in vitro and guinea pigs in vivo.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the transdermal delivery of 6-beta-naltrexol (NTXOL), the active metabolite of naltrexone (NTX), across human skin and guinea pig skin in vitro and in hairless guinea pigs in vivo. NTXOL may be responsible for much of NTX's pharmacologic activity. In vitro diffusion studies on NTXOL were compared with similar studies on NTX using a formulation of propylene glycol and buffer in a flow-through diffusion cell system. In vivo guinea pig studies were carried out involving topical application of both drugs in patches containing identical formulations. The in vitro flux of NTX was about 2.3- and 5.6-fold higher than for NTXOL across guinea pig skin and human skin, respectively. NTXOL lag times were longer than NTX in both skin types. In vivo studies in guinea pigs showed that the steady-state plasma level of NTX was twofold greater than NTXOL, which correlated well with in vitro data. The results of the present study indicated that substantial levels of NTX and NTXOL could be delivered via the transdermal route, although the plasma levels of NTXOL were significantly less than NTX. Further transdermal formulation development will be investigated for permeation enhancement.