The objective of the project was to investigate the plausibility
of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to undergo sublimation
from topical application following evaporation of solvent. Topical
formulations with different APIs were subjected to a sublimation screening
test. The APIs in the selected topical products were found to undergo
sublimation to a different extent. The salicylic acid topical product
was found to undergo a significant loss due to sublimation. The extent
of sublimation of salicylic acid was significantly greater at skin
temperature compared to room temperature. When the APIs were subjected
to the sublimation screening test in their neat form at 32 ±
1 °C, the natural log of the rate of sublimation decreased linearly
with the standard enthalpy of sublimation of compound (R
2 = 0.89). The formulation composition was found to have
a significant impact on the extent of sublimation of the representative
API, salicylic acid. The sublimation of APIs from the topical product
was found to affect the mass balance studies in the case of the salicylic
acid ointment. Furthermore, the results of the human studies agreed
with the in vitro experimental results demonstrating the plausibility
of loss of API due to sublimation from the site of application.