Can IV drugs be taken transdermally?

[regatis]

It's my first time here, so I'll try keeping to the point.
Is it possible for an IV drug (i.e. watered down morphine, coke, MDMA, etc) to be absorbed into the bloodstream transdermally (i.e. using a patch, like nicotine and contraceptive patches)?
If so, how stuck to the skin must the patch be? That is, must it be stuck properly, like a usual patch, or is simply touching the skin enough?

I should clarify. I'm writing a book, and I thought of hiding my character's drug use by having his IV drug hidden in his watch strap. That way, the drug slowly diffuses from the strap into the skin, and everyone else is simply noticing the high. I wondered if this would actually work, if the watch strap were semipermeable.

Thank you for your help.

 

[sigmond]

[h=1]Novel patch for transdermal administration of morphine.[/h]

CONTEXT: Transdermal absorption of morphine into the systemic circulation through intact skin has not been reported.

OBJECTIVES:

To describe a novel transdermal formulation for a morphine hydrochloride patch consisting of polyethylene sponge foam as the retaining agent and adjusted proportions of morphine hydrochloride and adjunctive drugs.

METHODS:

In this study, the transdermal morphine hydrochloride patch was administered to intact skin in five subjects and the plasma concentrations of morphine and its metabolites were examined.

RESULTS:

Morphine was absorbed systemically, producing plasma morphine concentrations above the assay detection limit by at least 24 hours after attachment of patches containing a total dose of 180mg of morphine. The levels gradually increased in a time-dependent manner without serious events. The area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 72 hours (AUC(0-72)) values for morphine, morphine-6-glucuronide, and morphine-3-glucuronide were 60.4±13.4, 133.7±17.4, and 861.5±126.7ng·h/mL, respectively. The mean plasma area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 72 hours ratio for morphine-6-glucuronide relative to morphine was 2.64.
CONCLUSION:

These data provide useful information for developing a transdermal morphine system.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22727949

Transdermal administration of morphine to healthy subjects.

1. Twelve healthy subjects received 10 mg morphine HCl delivered transdermally from an occlusive reservoir applied to a small area of skin, painlessly de-epithelialised by vacuum suction. On a separate occasion, 10 mg morphine HCl was given as an i.v. infusion over 20 min. 2. Venous blood samples were collected serially for 72 h and assayed for morphine, morphine-3-glucuronide (M3G) and morphine-6-glucuronide (M6G) by h.p.l.c. Pupil size, salivation, and central nervous effects (nausea, fatigue, headache, feeling of heaviness and dysphoria/euphoria) were also measured. 3. After transdermal application morphine was absorbed by a first-order process to produce relatively constant plasma drug concentrations over 11 h. The absolute bioavailability of transdermal morphine was 75% (65-85%; 95% CI). The plasma concentrations of both M6G and M3G were lower after transdermal administration than after i.v. infusion, and a considerable delay (of up to 1 h) was observed before the metabolites were detectable. AUC ratios for M3G and M6G relative to morphine were similar after both modes of administration. 4. Non-analgesic effects were less pronounced at the lower plasma drug and metabolite concentrations observed after transdermal delivery than after the i.v. infusion of morphine. 5. Transdermal administration of morphine warrants investigation as an alternative route of morphine delivery.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7917776

 

[beniceman]

I'm not familiar with the details, but there are things like Fentanyl patches and the likes, so there has to be a way. Not sure about coke or MDMD though.

 

[Demigodz4Life]

I believe that the drug needs to be dissolved in a powerful skin penetrant (sp?) Like dmso, or dimethylsulfoxide. Dmso has the ability to pull drugs across the skin rapidly. For example, if one were to dissolve lemon flavoring in dmso, and place it on your skin, you would taste lemon.

 

[regatis]

Thank you so much Mustapha! I found this extremely helpful, and the morphine study itself is extremely interesting. I was surprised to hear how much of the morphine was absorbed with this setup, so I guess my model is prone to working. As for the administration to healthy subjects, the delay seemed somewhat expected, but the fact that M6G and M3G levels were lower is what intrigued me. I appreciate your efforts.

Beniceman, I found those to be common, yes, and I'm sure there's a way for other drugs. Cheers!

Thanks demigod, I hadn't heard of DMSO before. I did a quick search and apparently it's great at this, but it leaves a garlic/rusty-metal taste in the mouth, which wouldn't work for my plot. I also found that drugs such as Ritalin (methylphenidate) are synthesised transdermal-ready, so I'm considering using that. I'm not sure if the dopamine kick is as prominent as with coke or MDMA, but I'm certain it's still noticeable.

[EDIT]: After a bit of research, I realised that something like MDMA, dextroamphetamine, or methylphenidate would be perfect for this. They can be diffused into the skin with DMSO, and the odour can be eliminated by using DMSO in its purest form, which works perfectly. Would these ^ drugs still work, given my described circumstances? Thank you for your help.

 

[Demigodz4Life]

I'm pretty sure the best drugs to apply with dmso are those active at ug levels like lysergic acid, or fentanyl. But as long as they're soluble in dmso, which idk but I think they are, it should be sound medically.

 

[neurotic]

if protagonist was an opioid addict, you could have him use the fentanyl patches... seems pretty realistic to me

 

[regatis]

Thank you for your input, neurotic. I was going to go with fentanyl, but it's too addictive and too potent. I read about it and it's "approximately 80 to 100 times more potent than morphine and roughly 15 to 20 times more potent than heroin" which doesn't work with the story. MDMA, on the other hand, I found to be soluble in most anything, and it's got little psychological addiction and a stronger high. I think it makes a lot of sense.

Thanks everyone who helped, it'll turn out a great story.

 

[neurotic]

not trying to be a buzzkill - trying to help actually! - but MDMA really is not that type of drug.

i mean, nobody gets addicted to MDMA in the same way one would get addicted to heroin or benzodiazepines. it is not a drug one could use as a 'fix', to take in the morning and function through the day. it's just not like that. i suggest you to read about MDMA perhaps even a bit here on Bluelight, on ecstasy discussion, to get an idea of how MDMA use and abuse really is - it is very different from the other drugs you mentioned.

to put it shortly, MDMA is very harsh on the mind and i bet most people would agree (head over to MDMA discussion and see what i'm talking about) that you just can't take it daily, for this and other reasons such as tolerance issues (MDMA tolerance is different from opioids for example, you just would get zero high and lots of adverse effects if you took increasingly higher doses of MDMA four days in a row for example. you can't stay high on MDMA 24/7 like opiates). hell, even taking it weekly is asking for mental health problems. users tend to save it for very special occasions and do it less than once a month. not your regular 'fix'.

best of luck on your story i myself love writing...

 

[sigmond]

if protagonist was an opioid addict, you could have him use the fentanyl patches... seems pretty realistic to me

Yeah, also agree with your comment about mdma, unless op is writing some kind of "existential" story. (something like the movie Groundhog Day)

Thank you for your input, neurotic. I was going to go with fentanyl, but it's too addictive and too potent. I read about it and it's "approximately 80 to 100 times more potent than morphine and roughly 15 to 20 times more potent than heroin" which doesn't work with the story. MDMA, on the other hand, I found to be soluble in most anything, and it's got little psychological addiction and a stronger high. I think it makes a lot of sense.
Thanks everyone who helped, it'll turn out a great story.

The "approximately 80 to 100 times more potent than morphine and roughly 15 to 20 times more potent than heroin" is basically referring to weight. I find statements like that to be so vague people shouldn't even use them. A multitude of people who wear fentanyl patches are still able to function in society.

best of luck with the story.

 

[regatis]

Neurotic you're not a buzzkill! (really sorry if it came across that way) Perhaps you're right, I should read more into MDMA and compare it to the milder ones. As I said, I'm very new here (this thread was my first post) so I'll try to find the discussions, and read some more into other options. I'm glad you enjoy writing too :D it's really the best hobby I ever had. And Mustapha it isn't much like Groundhog Day it's more complex than that. Now that you point it out, it does seem a bit vague; it seems likely that they would function, as well, because it's used medically for cancer and ADHD patients. I should consider fentanyl itself more closely. Thanks for the good luck wish, I'm gonna need it. I'm completely open to any suggestion of an alternative opiate - if it helps, I'm looking for something to give you a bit of a "let's do this!" and "I love my life" sort of attitude, with serious depression as a withdrawal symptom (the character gets off it at some point). I would be grateful for an opinion, thank you everyone :D

 

[neurotic]

Fentanyl would be the most realistic IMO. An IV dope user gets sick of needles, then switches to fent: manages to get high but functional throughout the day with uncospicuous patches.

It is a really realistic scenario - i bet something similar has happened before.

My 2 cents. Also Mustapha made a great point: potency doesnt meab anything other than that lesser amounts of the drug will get you higher. I bet there are many functional fentanyl patch users as there are completelt dysfunctional oxy (idk like 100x less potent than fent?) abusers.

 

[endomike]

Has anyone tried dissolving cocaine in DMSO and trying taking it transdermally?Scalp skin is supposed to be even more penetratable so I imagine spilling a few drops of this on your hair might do the trick.