Percutaneous absorption of 5-iodo-2' deoxycytidine in the hairless rat and in man.

A study of percutaneous absorption of the anti-herpetic agent 5-iodo-2' deoxycytidine (IDC) was performed in vitro on the rat and on man and in vivo on the rat, using samples of normal skin and skin stripped of its stratum corneum. With normal skin, absorption was 1.84 cm.h1 10(-4) for the rat and 0.33 cm.h1 10(-4) for human skin; when the stratum corneum was absent, absorption was approximately 15 times higher. The results are discussed in terms of efficacy and toxicity of the drug.