Properties and Characteristics
Azone is a new kind of high-efficient nonpoisonous skin osmotic promoter. As its hypertonicity the product is able to effect the ordinary construction of corneal layer in living things’ surface, make the lipoids under skin to be fluid, promote active agent through skin to be absorbed.
Azone appears colorless, odorless, transparent oil like liquid, stinkless and nonpoisonous. It does not dissolve in water, but can make an emulsion with water. It dissolves in most organic solvent such as alcohol, propanol, chloroform etc.. Added in cold cream and friction compound the Azone enable the products with a comfortable lubricity. The practices proved Azone has some characteristics as follows: 1．High-efficient osmotic promotion: Azone has a high efficient osmosis even at the low concentration as 0.5-2.0%,which is more over that of the poisonous conventional promoter, Dimythyl Sulfoxide (DMSO). The skin osmosis of Azone at 1% concentration is 13 times greater than that of DMSO at 50% concentration. Similarly, 1.8% Azone might enhance the osmosis of Flurouracil (FU) over 80 times. 2．Widely Applicable: Azone has the osmosis promotion not only greatly on hydrophilic or hydrophobic medicines but also obviously on antibiotics, steroid hormones, and nucleosides. Nowadays, Azone has been widely used in nutritious cosmetics. As no irritation on skin and mucosa, Azone might be applied directly on wounds. 3．Minimum toxicity: Azone is safe in all most the medicine formulations. Both LD50 of Azone in abdominal and intravenous injection are 8g/kg. The conventional concentration used in other products of Azone is at 1-10%. No harm and irritation have been observed when Azone used in anti-inflammatory ointments at the concentrate 80%. 4．Convenient for use: The osmotic promotion of Azone acts not noly when it is dissolved. In most cases, medicines might get a good osmosis when dropping Azone into their solution and shake the solution to emulsion. Azone might be used in any formulation according to the application purpose such as solutions, emotions, ointments, creams, suppository, films or plasters, which are applied on skin or mucomembrance include oral cavity, rectum and vagina. 5．Help to reduce dosage of active agents: The highest osmotic promotion of Azone appears normally when the active agent at lowerconcentration. For example, 0.02% Clindamycin with Azone has a nearly same osmosis with 0.1 Clindamycin without Azone in the formulation. Azone might deduce the active medicine in a large scale in its formulation, therefore, the advantage of Azone’s osmotic promotion comes more obviouslywhen the active medicine is expensive or has side effects.
