Efficient Ibuprofen Delivery by a Novel Semi-Solid Silicone Formulation: In-vitro and In-vivo Study

An anhydrous semi-solid topical formulation prepared using a novel crosslinked silicone polymer network delivered ibuprofen (IBP) more efficiently than 3 commercial benchmark products. The silicone formulation showed 5.3 times the IBP maximum flux and 18 times cumulative IBP release in 8 hr compared to that of the best-performing benchmark in the in-vitro permeability experiments. An in-vivo study conducted on rats showed 3.3 times the calculated blood AUCs for the silicone formulation over the benchmark. The IBP amount extracted from the excised rat skin was 2.6 times higher for the silicone formulation compared to that for the benchmark.