Encapsulation of antigen in poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) microspheres protects from harmful effects of γ-irradiation as assessed in mice

Clinically established biodegradable long acting injectables: An industry perspective

Long acting injectable formulations have been developed to sustain the action of drugs in the body over desired periods of time. These delivery platforms have been utilized for both systemic and local drug delivery applications. This review gives an overview of long acting injectable systems that are currently in clinical use. These products are categorized in three different groups: biodegradable polymeric systems, including microparticles and implants; micro and nanocrystal suspensions and oil-based formulations. Furthermore, the applications of these drug delivery platforms for the management of various chronic diseases are summarized. Finally, this review addresses industrial challenges regarding the development of long acting injectable formulations.

Monitoring structural features, biocompatibility and biological efficacy of gamma-irradiated methotrexate-loaded spray-dried microparticles

In this study, biodegradable and biocompatible gamma irradiated poly-(dl-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) spray-dried microparticles were prepared aiming to improve the efficacy of methotrexate (MTX). The experimental design included three formulations of microparticles containing distinct drug amount (9%, 18%, and 27% w/w) and three distinct gamma irradiation dose (15kGy, 25kGy, and 30kGy). The physicochemical and drug release properties of the microparticles supported their biocompatibility and biological efficacy studies in different cell lines. The irradiation induced slight changes in the spherical shape of the microparticles and the formation of free radicals was dependent on the drug loading. However, the amorphous character, particle size, drug loading, and drug release rate of the microparticles were preserved. The drug release data from all microparticles formulation were evaluated by using four drug kinetic models and by comparison of their similarity factor (f₂). The gamma irradiation did not induce changes in the biocompatibility of PLGA microparticles and in the biological activity of the MTX-loaded microparticles. Finally, the spray-dried MTX-loaded PLGA microparticles enhanced the efficacy of the drug in the human cervical cancer cells (SiHa cell line). This study demonstrated the feasibility of the gamma irradiated spray dried PLGA microparticles for prolonged release of MTX, supporting a promising antitumor-drug delivery system for parenteral (subcutaneous) or pulmonary use.

Caffeic Acid-PLGA Conjugate to Design Protein Drug Delivery Systems Stable to Irradiation

This work reports the feasibility of caffeic acid grafted PLGA (g-CA-PLGA) to design biodegradable sterile microspheres for the delivery of proteins. Ovalbumin (OVA) was selected as model compound because of its sensitiveness of γ-radiation. The adopted grafting procedure allowed us to obtain a material with good free radical scavenging properties, without a significant modification of M_w and T_g of the starting PLGA (M_{w PLGA} = 26.3 ± 1.3 kDa vs.M_{w g-CA-PLGA} = 22.8 ± 0.7 kDa; T_{g PLGA} = 47.7 ± 0.8 °C vs.T_{g g-CA-PLGA} = 47.4 ± 0.2 °C). By using a W₁/O/W₂ technique, g-CA-PLGA improved the encapsulation efficiency (EE), suggesting that the presence of caffeic residues improved the compatibility between components (EE_PLGA = 35.0% ± 0.7% vs.EE_g-CA-PLGA = 95.6% ± 2.7%). Microspheres particle size distribution ranged from 15 to 50 µm. The zeta-potential values of placebo and loaded microspheres were −25 mV and −15 mV, respectively. The irradiation of g-CA-PLGA at the dose of 25 kGy caused a less than 1% variation of M_w and the degradation patterns of the non-irradiated and irradiated microspheres were superimposable. The OVA content in g-CA-PLGA microspheres decreased to a lower extent with respect to PLGA microspheres. These results suggest that g-CA-PLGA is a promising biodegradable material to microencapsulate biological drugs.

Impact of IGF-I release kinetics on bone healing: a preliminary study in sheep

Spatiotemporal release of growth factors from a delivery device can profoundly affect the efficacy of bone growth induction. Here, we report on a delivery platform based on the encapsulation of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) in different poly(D,L-lactide) (PLA) and poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microsphere (MS) formulations to control IGF-I release kinetics. In vitro IGF-I release profiles generally exhibited an initial burst (14-36% of total IGF-I content), which was followed by a more or less pronounced dormant phase with little release (2 to 34 days), and finally, a third phase of re-increased IGF-I release. The osteoinductive potential of these different IGF-I PL(G)A MS formulations was tested in studies using 8-mm metaphyseal drill hole bone defects in sheep. Histomorphometric analysis at 3 and 6 weeks after surgery showed that new bone formation was improved in the defects locally treated with IGF-I PL(G)A MS (n=5) as compared to defects filled with IGF-I-free PL(G)A MS (n=4). The extent of new bone formation was affected by the particular release kinetics, although a definitive relationship was not evident. Local administration of IGF-I resulted in down-regulation of inflammatory marker genes in all IGF-I treated defects. The over-expression of growth factor genes in response to IGF-I delivery was restricted to formulations that produced osteogenic responses. These experiments demonstrate the osteoinductive potential of sustained IGF-I delivery and show the importance of delivery kinetics for successful IGF-I-based therapies.

Gamma irradiation of active self-healing PLGA microspheres for efficient aqueous encapsulation of vaccine antigens

PURPOSE

To investigate the effect of γ-irradiation of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)/Al(OH)₃/0 or 5 wt% diethyl phthalate (DEP) microspheres for active self-healing encapsulation of vaccine antigens.

METHODS

Microspheres were irradiated with ⁶⁰Co at 2.5 and 1.8 MRad and 0.37 and 0.20 MRad/h. Encapsulation of tetanus toxoid (TT) was achieved by mixing Al(OH)₃-PLGA microspheres with TT solution at 10-38°C. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy was used to examine free radical formation. Glass transition temperature (T(g)) and molecular weight of PLGA was measured by differential scanning calorimetry and gel permeation chromatography, respectively. Loading and release of TT were examined by modified Bradford, amino acid analysis, and ELISA assays.

RESULTS

EPR spectroscopy results indicated absence of free radicals in PLGA microspheres after γ-irradiation. Antigen-sorbing capacity, encapsulation efficiency, and T(g) of the polymer were also not adversely affected. When DEP-loaded microspheres were irradiated at 0.2 MRad/h, some PLGA pores healed during irradiation and PLGA healing during encapsulation was suppressed. The molecular weight of PLGA was slightly reduced when DEP-loaded microspheres were irradiated at the same dose rate. At the 0.37 MRad/h dose rate, these trends were not observed and the full immunoreactivity of TT was preserved during encapsulation and 1-month release. Gamma irradiation slightly increased TT initial burst release. The small increase in total irradiation dose from 1.8 to 2.5 MRad had insignificant effect on the polymer and microspheres properties analyzed.

CONCLUSIONS

Gamma irradiation is a plausible approach to provide a terminally sterilized, self-healing encapsulation PLGA excipient for vaccine delivery.

Preservation of biological activity of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) after microencapsulation and sterilization by gamma irradiation

A main issue in controlled delivery of biotechnological products from injectable biodegradable microspheres is to preserve their integrity and functional activity after the microencapsulation process and final sterilization. The present experimental work tested different technological approaches to maintain the biological activity of an encapsulated biotechnological product within PLGA [poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid)] microspheres (MS) after their sterilization by gamma irradiation. GDNF (glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor), useful in the treatment of several neurodegenerative diseases, was chosen as a labile model protein. In the particular case of optic nerve degeneration, GDNF has been demonstrated to improve the damaged retinal ganglion cells (RGC) survival. GDNF was encapsulated in its molecular state by the water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) technique or as solid according to the solid-in-oil-in-water (S/O/W) method. Based on the S/O/W technique, GDNF was included in the PLGA microspheres alone (S/O/W 1) or in combination with an antioxidant (vitamin E, Vit E) (S/O/W 2). Microspheres were sterilized by gamma-irradiation (dose of 25 kGy) at room and low (-78 °C) temperatures. Functional activity of GDNF released from the different microspheres was evaluated both before and after sterilization in their potential target cells (retinal cells). Although none of the systems proposed achieved with the goal of totally retain the structural stability of the GDNF-dimer, the protein released from the S/O/W 2 microspheres was clearly the most biologically active, showing significantly less retinal cell death than that released from either W/O/W or S/O/W 1 particles, even in low amounts of the neurotrophic factor. According to the results presented in this work, the biological activity of biotechnological products after microencapsulation and sterilization can be further preserved by the inclusion of the active molecule in its solid state in combination with antioxidants and using low temperature (-78 °C) during gamma irradiation exposure.

Coencapsulation of tumor lysate and CpG-ODN in PLGA-microspheres enables successful immunotherapy of prostate carcinoma in TRAMP mice

Biodegradable poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microspheres (MS) deliver antigens and toll like receptor (TLR) ligands to antigen presenting cells (APC) in vitro and in vivo. PLGA-MS-microencapsulated model antigens are efficiently presented on MHC class I and II molecules of dendritic cells and stimulate strong cytotoxic and T helper cell responses enabling the eradication of pre-existing model tumors. The application of tumor lysates as a source of antigen for immunotherapy has so far not been very successful also due to a lack of suitable delivery systems. In this study we used PLGA-MS with co-encapsulated tumor lysates and CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODN) as well as microencapsulated polyI:C in order to elicit anti-tumor responses. Immunization of mice with such mixtures of MS yielded substantial cytotoxic T cell (CTL) responses and interfered with tumor growth in TRAMP mice, a pre-clinical transgenic mouse model of prostate carcinoma, which has previously resisted dendritic cell-based therapy. As an important step towards clinical application of PLGA-MS, we could show that γ-irradiation of PLGA-MS sterilized the MS, without reducing their efficacy in eliciting CTL and anti-tumor responses in subcutaneous tumor grafts. Since PLGA is approved for clinical application, sterilized PLGA-MS containing tumor lysates and TLR ligands hold promise as anti-tumor vaccines against prostate carcinoma in humans.