ATR-FTIR spectroscopic investigations on the effect of solvents on the permeation of benzoic acid and salicylic acid through silicone membranes.

The effect of a series of alcohols on the permeation of salicylic acid (SA) and benzoic acid (BA) through silicone membrane was evaluated, using Franz-type diffusion cells. Although permeants were applied at the same thermodynamic activity in all vehicles, the resulting fluxes were found to differ significantly. This was a consequence of the interactions between the vehicles and the membrane. The interactions between the vehicles and the membrane were further investigated using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. With this technique, it was possible to identify two different diffusion processes when the membrane was pre-treated with buffer, whereas one single diffusion process was observed when the membrane was pre-soaked with the vehicle. The technique was successfully used to deconvolute the relative magnitude of partition and diffusion in the permeation process. It was shown that the permeation of both acids was affected by the effect of the vehicles on the diffusion coefficient and the partition coefficient in the silicone membrane. The solubility of the drug in the impregnated membrane was found to be proportional to the saturated solubility in the vehicle used to treat the membrane. The solubility of BA in the impregnated silicone membrane was twice that of SA.