Controlled release of steroids through microporous membranes with sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles

The effect of solubilization by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles on the transport of steroids across synthetic microporous membranes has been studied experimentally in a diffusion cell and compared with theoretical calculations. The model used for calculations accounted for the fluxes of free and micelle-solubilized drug. Since the pores of the microporous membranes were only 10 times larger than the micelle, hindered diffusion effects for the micelles were taken into account. The compounds of interest (hydrocortisone, testosterone, and progesterone) had a wide range of aqueous solubilities and distribution coefficients between the aqueous and the micellar phases. In general, the theoretical predictions of drug diffusion agreed with the data to within approximately 10%.