Triptolide laden reduced graphene oxide transdermal hydrogel to manage knee arthritis: and studies.

Triptolide (extract of herb ) is widely used in rheumatoid arthritis due to its potent immunosuppressant effect. The marketed oral (tablet dosage forms) and parenteral injections have short duration of action (half-life = 38 min) and not limited to multiorgan toxicity, which restrict the use of triptolide in clinical practice. In this study, a triptolide-loaded Pluronic® F68-reduced graphene oxide transdermal (non-invasive) hydrogel was developed to achieve sustained release of triptolide. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy confirmed the synthesis of Pluronic F68-reduced graphene oxide. Transmission electron microscopy showed flat wrinkled-nanosheets. The developed hydrogel showed desirable viscosity (11,261-11,365 cps), adhesiveness (0.25 mJ), hardness (6.5 g), and cohesiveness (1.85) for transdermal application. The release study demonstrated the ability of the Pluronic F68-reduced graphene oxide hydrogel to prolong release up to 14 h (63.64-96.78%), owing to the strong π-π interactions between the graphene oxide and the triptolide. The pharmacokinetic parameters in the rat model confirmed the improvement in the relative bioavailability (3.3-fold) with Pluronic F68-reduced graphene oxide hydrogel in comparison to the control hydrogel without reduced graphene oxide. The anti-rheumatoid efficacy model suggest the potential application of Pluronic F68-reduced graphene oxide hydrogel to treat knee rheumatoid arthritis (70-75% resolution) to substitute tablets and parenteral injections.