The nitroglycerin polymer gel matrix system: a new method for administering nitroglycerin evaluated with plasma nitroglycerin levels.

A new topical dosage form of nitroglycerin has been developed in which nitroglycerin and its vehicle are incorporated in a polymer gel matrix of fixed dimension. Venous plasma nitroglycerin concentrations were measured for 24 h after application of nitroglycerin polymer gel systems measuring 10 cm and containing 2% nitroglycerin (wt/wt) to 10 normal male volunteers. Five of these subjects were subsequently tested with 20-cm2 gel systems of similar composition. With the 10-cm2 nitroglycerin polymer gel system, venous plasma nitroglycerin concentrations were 0.83 +/- 0.26 ng/ml ast 4 h and 0.89 +/- 0.23 ng/ml at 24 h. For the 20-cm2 system, venous plasma nitroglycerin concentrations were 1.83 +/- 0.55 ng/ml at 8 h and 1.81 +/- 0.13 ng/ml at 24 h. The only adverse effect noted was headache, which affected all the subjects tested with the 20-cm2 appliance. The plasma nitroglycerin concentrations obtained with the polymer gel system appear to be in a clinically useful range; thus this new form of topical nitroglycerin should be of benefit to patients in whom sustained plasma nitroglycerin concentrations are desirable, e.g., those patients with chronic congestive heart failure and angina on awakening.