Controlled Release of Lidocaine-Diclofenac Ionic Liquid Drug from Freeze-Thawed Gelatin/Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Transdermal Patches.

The objectives of this work were to prepare a 5 wt% lidocaine-diclofenac ionic liquid drug-loaded gelatin/poly(vinyl alcohol) transdermal patch using a freeze/thaw method and to evaluate its physicochemical properties, in vitro release of lidocaine and diclofenac, and stability test. The lidocaine-diclofenac ionic liquid drug was produced by the ion pair reaction between the hydrochloride salts of lidocaine and the sodium salts of diclofenac. The thermal properties of the final drug product were significantly changed from the primary drugs. The ionic liquid drug could be dissolved in water and mixed in a polymer solution. The resulting transdermal patch was then exposed to 10 cycles of freezing and thawing preparation at - 20°C for 8 h and at 25°C for 4 h, respectively. As a result, it was found that the lidocaine-diclofenac ionic liquid drug-loaded transdermal patch showed good physicochemical properties and could feasibly be used in pharmaceutical applications. The lidocaine-diclofenac ionic liquid drug was not affected by the properties of the transdermal patch due to the lack of chemical interaction between polymer base and drug. The high drug release values of both lidocaine and diclofenac were controlled by the gelatin/poly(vinyl alcohol) transdermal patch. The patch showed good stability over the study period of 3 months when kept at 4°C or under ambient temperature.