Assay of tolnaftate in human skin samples after in vitro penetration studies using high performance liquid chromatography.

Abstract: Tolnaftate, an antifungal of thiocarbamate class, is used topically in 1% formulations. Its penetration into skin layers is a prerequisite for tolnaftate action against dermatophytes. The aim of this work was to optimize and validate a simple, rapid, accurate and reproducible procedure for tolnaftate assay in human skin samples and to apply this procedure for in vitro tolnaftate penetration studies. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with UV detection was used to validate tolnaftate assay for linearity, specificity, accuracy, precision, limit of quantitation, limit of detection, drug extraction recovery and stability in skin extracts. In vitro tolnaftate penetration studies were carried out using flow-through diffusion cells, mounted with human skin. Epidermis and dermis, separated by heat-separation method, were extracted using ultrasonication in methanol. Linear range of the analytical procedure was within 0.6-100 pg/mL. The assay was specific, accurate (within-day and between-day recovery values were 98.2-104.2% and 98.7-101.4%, respectively) and precise (within-day and between-day imprecision was = 3.8%). Mean extraction recoveries of tolnaftate from epidermis and dermis were satisfactory and reaching 90%. In vitro skin penetration studies revealed that after application of 1% (w/w) tolnaftate solution in polyethylene glycol 400 for 24 hours, the mean amount of tolnaftate penetrating into the epidermis and dermis was 2.60 +/- 0.28 microg/cm2 and 0.92 +/- 0.12 microg/cm2, respectively. A validated reliable HPLC method could be recommended for biopharmaceutical evaluation of tolnaftate preparations and studies of pharmacokinetics in human skin after in vitro penetration studies.