PLGA-PEG-PLGA for inner-ear delivery

PolySciTech provides temperature sensitive PLGA-PEG-PLGA formulations such as PolyVivo AK12 and AK24. Similar polymers have been investigated for drug delivery by intratympanic route. Feng, L., J. A. Ward, S. K. Li, G. Tolia, J. Hao, and D. I. Choo. "Assessment of PLGA-PEG-PLGA Copolymer Hydrogel for Sustained Drug Delivery in the Ear." Current drug delivery (2014). http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/24438444/reload=0;jsessionid=1xqhdvNA1tQAJq0Datzj.2

“Abstract:

Temperature sensitive copolymer systems were previously studied using modified diffusion cells in vitro for intratympanic injection, and the PLGA-PEG-PLGA copolymer systems were found to provide sustained drug delivery for several days. The objectives of the present study were to assess the safety of PLGA-PEG-PLGA copolymers in intratympanic injection in guinea pigs in vivo and to determine the effects of additives glycerol and poloxamer in PLGA-PEG-PLGA upon drug release in the diffusion cells in vitro for sustained inner ear drug delivery. In the experiments, the safety of PLGA-PEG-PLGA copolymers to inner ear was evaluated using auditory brainstem response (ABR). The effects of the additives upon drug release from PLGA-PEG-PLGA hydrogel were investigated in the modified Franz diffusion cells in vitro with cidofovir as the model drug. The phase transition temperatures of the PLGA-PEG-PLGA copolymers in the presence of the additives were also determined. In the ABR safety study, the PLGA-PEG-PLGA copolymer alone did not affect hearing when delivered at 0.05-mL dose but caused hearing loss after 0.1-mL injection. In the drug release study, the incorporation of the bioadhesive additive, poloxamer, in the PLGA-PEG-PLGA formulations was found to decrease the rate of drug release whereas the increase in the concentration of the humectant additive, glycerol, provided the opposite effect. Thus, the PLGA-PEG-PLGA copolymer did not show toxicity to the inner ear at the 0.05-mL dose and could provide sustained release for inner ear applications that could be controlled by using the additives.”