Combined patch containing salicylic acid and nicotinamide: role of drug interaction

The aim of the present study was to formulate a combined patch containing salicylic (SA) acid and nicotinamide (NA), useful for the treatment of mild acne, and to verify their mutual effect on drug permeation and skin retention. The performance of the patch was tested in vitro in permeation experiments using pig ear skin as barrier. To better understand the data obtained from the film, permeation from solutions and isopropyl myristate/water partition coefficient were also determined. The results obtained in the present work suggest a mutual influence of NA and SA on their permeation across the skin from an innovative transdermal film. The partition coefficient obtained when the two molecules were simultaneously present was typically lower than the respective value obtained with NA and SA alone.