For finite dose skin absorption experiments, a homogeneous donor distribution over the skin surface is usually assumed. However, the influence of the surface distribution on skin absorption is still unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the application area on the permeation of drugs during finite dose skin absorption experiments in static Franz diffusion cells. Permeation experiments with stained aqueous drug formulations were conducted, and the application area was determined by a suitable, objective, automated computational approach. The permeation of caffeine is strongly dependent on the application area. The variability between single experiments decreased when including the application area. For the lipophilic flufenamic acid, this was not the case. The variability highly increased after inclusion of the application area. Thus, a correction of the area is misleading. In summary, depending on the drug's physicochemical characteristics, the application area may influence skin absorption.
© 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.