Assessment of glyceride-structured oleogels as an injectable extended-release delivery system of bupivacaine.

This manuscript systematically assesses three different glycerides (tripalmitin, glyceryl monostearate, and a blend of mono-, di- and triesters of palmitic and stearic acids (Geleol™)) as potential gelator structuring agents of medium-chain triglyceride oil to form an oleogel-based injectable long-acting local anesthetic formulation for postoperative pain management. Drug release testing, oil-binding capacity, injection forces, x-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and rheological testing were serially performed to characterize the functional properties of each oleogel. After benchtop assessment, the superior bupivacaine-loaded oleogel formulation was compared to bupivacaine HCl, liposomal bupivacaine, and bupivacaine-loaded medium-chain triglyceride oil in a rat sciatic nerve block model to assess in vivo long-acting local anesthetic performance. In vitro drug release kinetics were similar for all formulations, indicating that drug release rate is primarily dependent on the drug's affinity to the base oil. Glyceryl monostearate-based formulations had superior shelf-life and thermal stability. The glyceryl monostearate oleogel formulation was selected for in vivo evaluation. It was found to have a significantly longer duration of anesthetic effect than liposomal bupivacaine and was able to provide anesthesia twice as long as the equipotent bupivacaine-loaded medium-chain triglyceride oil, indicating that the increased viscosity of the oleogel provided enhanced controlled release over the drug-loaded oil alone.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Brett Davis, Susan Wojtalewicz, Sierra Erickson, Jonathon Vizmeg, Jack Shuckra, Keelah Barger, Andrew Cleveland, Jordan Davis, Stefan Niederauer, Michael Beeman, Jayant Agarwal, Caleb Lade report financial support was provided by Rebel Medicine Inc. Brett Davis, Susan Wojtalewicz, Sierra Erickson, Jonathon Vizmeg, Jack Shuckra, Keelah Barger, Andrew Cleveland, Jordan Davis, Stefan Niederauer, Michael Beeman, Jayant Agarwal, Caleb Lade reports a relationship with Rebel Medicine Inc that includes: board membership, employment, and/or equity or stocks. Cameron Metcalf, Karen Wilcox, and Vanja Panic have no conflicting interests.
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