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Growth factors represent an important therapeutic protein drug class, and would benefit significantly from formulations that provide sustained, local release to realize their full clinical potential. Biodegradable polymer-based delivery platforms have been examined to achieve this end; however, formulations based on conventional polymers have yet to yield a clinical product. This review examines new polymer biomaterials that have been developed for growth factor delivery. The dosage forms are discussed in terms of their mechanism of release, the stability of the released growth factor, their method of preparation, and their potential for clinical translation., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Protein therapeutics are a rapidly growing drug class, with sales in 2004 in the area of $US 34 billion. They are presently administered primarily by injection, although there is increasing recognition that many proteins would benefit from long-term, localized delivery. Such delivery represents a significant challenge due principally to protein stability concerns. Polymeric delivery systems which rely on osmotic pressure driven drug release may prove to be an effective formulation approach. This paper reviews the evolution of osmotic pressure drug release from polymers, with an emphasis on their potential for protein delivery. It is concluded that osmotic pressure driven release is promising for protein delivery, but there is still a need for in vivo demonstration of protein stability and delivery efficacy.

Camptothecin is an example of a potent drug with a short half-life that would benefit from a localized drug depot system that maintains its stability prior to being released. For this reason, a thermoplastic, biodegradable polymer drug depot was prepared and characterized, and the in vitro release of camptothecin examined. epsilon-Caprolactone oligomers were prepared by ring-opening polymerization initiated by various alcohols. The polymers were characterized via differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) for thermal transitions, and via a parallel plate rheometer for melt viscosity. Camptothecin was loaded into the oligomers and released into PBS buffer. The viscosity of the oligomers was alterable by the initiator used. The oligomers were semi-crystalline with melting points between 37 and 45 degrees C. Camptothecin was released from the oligomers in a diffusion-controlled manner, with the release rate increasing as the melt viscosity of the oligomer decreased. The unreleased camptothecin remained in its active lactone form for a period of up to 16 weeks., (Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 93:1195-1204, 2004)

Injectable thermoplastic oligomers represent a promising biomaterial for drug delivery provided they possess a melting point at or very near physiologic temperature, as well as a low melt viscosity. One approach would be to prepare an oligolactone. In this paper, we examine the role of different alcohol initiators used in the ring-opening polymerization of epsilon-caprolactone oligomers on the melting point and melt viscosity of the resultant thermoplastics. We found that the initiator used plays a significant role in the final properties of the final oligomer. For primary alcohols, the longer the chain length of the oligomer the lower its melt viscosity, until a chain length of 8 carbons, after which there was no noticeable effect. There was no significant effect observed of primary initiators on the melting point. The use of secondary alcohols produced oligomers with higher viscosities but with reduced overall crystallinity. The use of an unsaturated alcohol, oleyl alcohol, not only reduced the melting point and overall crystallinity but also reduced the melt viscosity of the oligomer. The oleyl alcohol initiated oligomer appears to be a promising vehicle for localized, sustained drug delivery applications.

Camptothecin has shown significant antitumor activity to lung, ovarian, breast, pancreas, and stomach cancers. Camptothecin, however, like a number of other potent anticancer agents such as paclitaxel, is extremely water insoluble. Furthermore, pharmacology studies have determined that prolonged schedules of administration given continuously are required. Thus, this insolubility has restricted its clinical application. For these reasons, a number of water-soluble analogs have been synthesized and a number of different formulation approaches have been investigated. In this review, we examine each of these approaches and discuss their advantages and limitations.

The ability to inject a drug incorporated into a polymer to a localized site and have the polymer form a semi-solid drug depot has a number of advantages. Among these advantages is ease of application and localized, prolonged drug delivery. For these reasons a large number of in situ setting polymeric delivery systems have been developed and investigated for use in delivering a wide variety of drugs. In this article we introduce the various strategies that have been used to prepare in situ setting systems, and outline their advantages and disadvantages as localized drug delivery systems.