Transdermal absorption prodrugs

On the other hand, highly lipophilic compounds, such as hormones, can be solubilized via the prodrug approach. For example, the rate of transdermal absorption of the highly lipophilic drug, testosterone, was enhanced over 50-fold by forming water-soluble, yet lipophilic, prodrug ester.f The prodrug testoster-onyl-4-dimethylaminobutyrate was found to penetrate human skin tissue, in vitro, 54 times faster than... 

Cutaneous biotransformation is mostly associated with the stratum basale layer where there can be phase I and phase II metabolism. However, the skin is not very efficient, compared to the liver. The epidermal layer accounts for the major portion of biochemical transformations in skin, although the total skin activity is low (2-6% that of the liver). Where activity is based on epidermis alone, that layer is as active as the liver or, in the case of certain toxicants, several times more active. For some chemicals, metabolism can influence absorption, and transdermal delivery systems of drugs utilize this activity. For example prodrug such as lipid esters are applied topically, and cutaneous esterases liberate the free drug. These basal cells and extracellular esterases have been shown to be involved in detoxification of several pesticides and bioactivation of carcinogens such as benzo(a)pyrene. For rapidly penetrating substances, metabolism by the skin is not presently considered to be of major significance, but skin may have an important first-pass metabolic function, especially for compounds that are absorbed slowly. 

When the transdermal penetration of a drug is inadequate to achieve and maintain a plasma concentration above the minimum therapeutic concentration required to produce the desired effect, a lipophilic prodrug that will be metabolized in the epidermis to the active drug could be used in the development of a controlled-release transdermal delivery system. This approach has been applied to estradiol esters (diacetate and valerate) which are rapidly converted by esterases in the skin tissue to estradiol (Chien et al, 1985). The prodrug serves to increase the transdermal bioavailability of the active drug to which it is converted by metabolism (generally ester hydrolysis) during the percutaneous absorption process. 

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