A new method of analysis for low concentrations nifedipine was developed according to the principle of a photodegradation analytical method that has been reported by the authors previously, and was used to study percutaneous absorption. The absorbance of sample solution was measured before and after light irradiation at 237 nm for 2 h. In this method, calibration graph was linear in the range of 1-20 micrograms/ml for delta A237. The average recovery for nifedipine was 98.80%. No interference from propylene glycol, azone, m-nifedipine, nitrendipine, verapamil and propranolol was observed. It is shown that azone can promote markedly percutaneous absorption of nifedipine.