Testosterone ethosomes for enhanced transdermal delivery

Physiological decrease in testosterone levels in men with age causes various changes with clinical significance. Recent testosterone replacement therapy is based mainly on transdermal nonpatch delivery systems. These products have the drawback of application on extremely large areas to achieve required hormone blood levels. The objective of the present study was to design and test a testosterone nonpatch formulation using ethosomes for enhanced transdermal absorption. The ethosomal formulation was characterized by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering for structure and size distribution and by ultracentrifugation for entrapment capacity. To evaluate the feasibility of this delivery system to enhance testosterone permeation through the skin, first the systemic absorption in rats was compared with a currently used gel (AndroGel(R)). Further, theoretical estimation of testosterone blood concentration following ethosomal application in men was made. For this purpose, in vitro permeation experiments through human skin were performed to establish testosterone skin permeation values. In the design of these experiments, testosterone solubility in various solutions was measured and the effect of the receiver medium on the skin barrier function was assessed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Theoretical estimation shows that testosterone human plasma concentration value in the upper part of the physiological range could be achieved by application of the ethosomal formulation on an area of 40 cm(2). This area is about 10 times smaller than required with current nonpatch formulations. Our work shows that the ethosomal formulation could enhance testosterone systemic absorption and also be used for designing new products that could solve the weaknesses of the current testosterone replacement therapies.