Dissolving polyvinylpyrrolidone-based microneedle systems for in-vitro delivery of sumatriptan succinate

In-vitro permeation studies were conducted to assess the feasibility of fabricating dissolving-microneedle-array systems to release sumatriptan succinate. The formulations consisted mainly of the encapsulated active ingredient and a water-soluble biologically compatible polymer, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Tests with Franz-type diffusion cells and Göttingen minipig skins showed an increase of the transdermal flux compared to passive diffusion. A preparation, containing 30% by mass of PVP and 8.7 mg sumatriptan, produced a delivery rate of 395 ± 31 μg/cm² h over a 7-hour period after a negligible lag time of approximately 39 min. Theoretically, a 10.7 cm² microneedle-array patch loaded with 118.8 mg of the drug would provide the required plasma concentration, 72 ng/mL, for nearly 7 h.