A drug patch is often used by patients. The drug patch contains a pure drug source attached on top of a gel diffusion barrier. The gel diffusion barrier has a thickness of 2.0 mm. The gel diffusion barrier is in direct contact with the skin. The cumulative drug release vs. time profile for a 3.0-cm 3.0-cm square patch at 20 C is also shown below. Other experiments showed that the drug was immediately taken up into the body after exiting the patch. The drug is only slightly soluble in the gel material. The maximum solubility of the drug in the gel diffusion barrier is 0.50 mole/ cm3, and the solubility of the drug in the gel diffusion barrier is not affected by temperature.

a. From the data shown below, estimate the effective diffusion coefficient of the drug in the diffusion barrier. b. When used on the body, heat transfer raises the temperature of the drug patch to about 35 C. What is the new drug delivery rate (WA) at this temperature in units of umole/day? For purposes of this analysis, assume that the gel-like diffusion barrier material approximates the properties of liquid water. 0.20 moles A) 0.15 Drug patch 0.10 Impermeable barrier - Drug reservoir Gel diffusion barrier Drug released 0.05 Skin surface 0.000 O 5 20 25 Infected body tissue (sink for drug) 10 15 Time (hours)