Intravaginal controlled administration of flurogestone acetate II: Development of an in vitro system for studying the intravaginal release and permeation of flurogestone acetate.

A relatively simple and easily constructed in vitro system was developed for studying the mechanism of release and intravaginal absorption of flurogestone acetate from vaginal sponges. The stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatographic method developed earlier was used to provide a rapid, reproducible, and sensitive assay. The in vitro intravaginal release/permeation system developed was capable of determining the rate of flurogestone acetate release from vaginal sponges and, simultaneously, the rate of absorption through the vaginal wall. The design, calibration, and applicability of the system, and the release and absorption profiles of the drug from vaginal sponges in this system are discussed.