Sulabh Patel

Long-term delivery of protein therapeutics.

Introduction: Proteins are effective biotherapeutics with applications in diverse ailments. Despite being specific and potent, their full clinical potential has not yet been realized. This can be attributed to short half-lives, complex structures, poor in vivo stability, low permeability, frequent parenteral administrations and poor adherence to treatment in chronic diseases. A sustained release system, providing controlled release of proteins, may overcome many of these limitations. Areas covered: This review focuses on recent development in approaches, especially polymer-based formulations, which can provide therapeutic levels of proteins over extended periods. Advances in particulate, gel-based formulations and novel approaches for extended protein delivery are discussed. Emphasis is placed on dosage form, method of preparation, mechanism of release and stability of biotherapeutics. Expert opinion: Substantial advancements have been made in the field of extended protein delivery via various polymer-based formulations over last decade despite the unique delivery-related challenges posed by protein biologics. A number of injectable sustained-release formulations have reached market. However, therapeutic application of proteins is still hampered by delivery-related issues. A large number of protein molecules are under clinical trials, and hence, there is an urgent need to develop new methods to deliver these highly potent biologics.

Novel Strategies for Anterior Segment Ocular Drug Delivery

Research advancements in pharmaceutical sciences have led to the development of new strategies in drug delivery to anterior segment. Designing a new delivery system that can efficiently target the diseased anterior ocular tissue, generate high drug levels, and maintain prolonged and effective concentrations with no or minimal side effects is the major focus of current research. Drug delivery by traditional method of administration via topical dosing is impeded by ocular static and dynamic barriers. Various products have been introduced into the market that prolong drug retention in the precorneal pocket and to improve bioavailability. However, there is a need of a delivery system that can provide controlled release to treat chronic ocular diseases with a reduced dosing frequency without causing any visual disturbances. This review provides an overview of anterior ocular barriers along with strategies to overcome these ocular barriers and deliver therapeutic agents to the affected anterior ocular tissue with a special emphasis on nanotechnology-based drug delivery approaches.

Controlled ocular drug delivery with nanomicelles

Many vision threatening ocular diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and proliferative vitreoretinopathy may result in blindness. Ocular drug delivery specifically to the intraocular tissues remains a challenging task due to the presence of various physiological barriers. Nonetheless, recent advancements in the field of nanomicelle-based novel drug delivery system could fulfil these unmet needs. Nanomicelles consists of amphiphilic molecules that self-assemble in aqueous media to form organized supramolecular structures. Micelles can be prepared in various sizes (10-1000 nm) and shapes depending on the molecular weights of the core and corona forming blocks. Nanomicelles have been an attractive carrier for their potential to solubilize hydrophobic molecules in aqueous solution. In addition, small size in nanometer range and highly modifiable surface properties have been reported to be advantageous in ocular drug delivery. In this review, various factors influencing rationale design of nanomicelles formulation and disposition are discussed along with case studies. Despite the progress in the field, influence of various properties of nanomicelles such as size, shape, surface charge, rigidity of structure on ocular disposition need to be studied in further details to develop an efficient nanocarrier system.

Tailor-Made Pentablock Copolymer Based Formulation for Sustained Ocular Delivery of Protein Therapeutics

The objective of this research article is to report the synthesis and evaluation of novel pentablock copolymers for controlled delivery of macromolecules in the treatment of posterior segment diseases. Novel biodegradable PB copolymers were synthesized by sequential ring-opening polymerization. Various ratios and molecular weights of each block (polyglycolic acid, polyethylene glycol, polylactic acid, and polycaprolactone) were selected for synthesis and to optimize release profile of FITC-BSA, IgG, and bevacizumab from nanoparticles (NPs) and thermosensitive gel. NPs were characterized for particle size, polydispersity, entrapment efficiency, and drug loading. In vitro release study of proteins from NPs alone and composite formulation (NPs suspended in thermosensitive gel) was performed. Composite formulations demonstrated no or negligible burst release with continuous near zero-order release in contrast to NPs alone. Hydrodynamic diameter of protein therapeutics and hydrophobicity of PB copolymer exhibited significant effect on entrapment efficiency and in vitro release profile. CD spectroscopy confirmed retention of structural conformation of released protein. Biological activity of released bevacizumab was confirmed by in vitro cell proliferation and cell migration assays. It can be concluded that novel PB polymers can serve a platform for sustained delivery of therapeutic proteins.

Microvascular complications and diabetic retinopathy: recent advances and future implications.

Retinal microvascular alterations have been observed during diabetic retinopathy (DR) due to the retinal susceptibility towards subtle pathological alterations. Therefore, retinal microvascular pathology is essential to understand the nature of retinal degenerations during DR. In this review, the role of retinal microvasculature complications during progression of DR, along with recent efforts to normalize such alterations for better therapeutic outcome, will be underlined. In addition, current therapeutics and future directions for advancement of standard treatment for DR patients will be discussed.

Novel Pentablock Copolymer Based Nanoparticles Containing Pazopanib: A Potential Therapy for Ocular Neovascularization

The main aim of this study was to design novel pentablock (PB) (PLA-PCL-PEG-PCL-PLA) polymer to prepare nanoparticles (NP) in order to achieve sustain delivery of pazopanib with minimal burst effect for the treatment of ocular neovascularization. Another purpose was to evaluate the effect of pazopanib loaded NP to bypass drug efflux with the discussion of recent patents. PB copolymer was successfully synthesized using ring opening polymerization reaction mechanism and characterized using 1 H NMR, GPC and XRD analysis. Synthesized PB copolymer was found to non- cytotoxic, non-immunogenic and biocompatible with ocular cell lines. Also, several parameters such as entrapment efficiency, drug loading, in vitro drug release profiling and effect of pazopanib NP in evading efflux transporters were examined. PB copolymer-based NP exhibited continuous release of pazopanib. It can be utilized to achieve continuous first order delivery of pazopanib upto 100 days from nanoparticles without any significant burst effect. Pazopanib loaded NP were successful in evading drug efflux mediated via efflux transporters. This formulation can be employed to circumvent ocular barriers without altering ocular protective mechanisms. Our results indicated that PB copolymer based drug delivery systems can serve as a platform technology for the development of sustained release therapy for the treatment of ocular neovascularization. This drug delivery system can also be applicable for other ocular complications.

Novel Thermosensitive Pentablock Copolymers for Sustained Delivery of Proteins in the Treatment of Posterior Segment Diseases

Biodegradable and injectable in situ thermosensitive hydrogels were investigated for sustained delivery of pro- tein therapeutics in the treatment of ocular posterior segment neovascular diseases. A series of triblock (TB, polycaprolac- tone-polyethylene glycol-polycaprolactone (PCL-PEG-PCL), B-A-B) and pentablock copolymers (PBCs) (polylactic acid (PLA)-PCL-PEG-PCL-PLA (C-B-A-B-C) and PEG-PCL-PLA-PCL-PEG (A-B-C-B-A)) were synthesized and evaluated for their thermosensitive behavior. Effects of molecular weight, hydr ophobicity and block arrangement on polymer crys-tallinity, sol-gel transition, micelle size, viscosity and in vitro drug release were examined. Results from sol-gel transition studies demonstrated that aqueous solutions of block copolymers can immediately transform to hydrogel upon exposure to physiological temperature. PBC provide significantly longer sustained release (more than 20 days) of IgG relative to TB copolymers. Moreover, kinematic viscosity of aqueous solution at 25°C for A-B-C-B-A type of PBCs was noticeably lower than the TB (B-A-B) copolymers and other PBCs with C-B-A-B-C block arrangements suggesting desired syringe- ability. The presence of PLA blocks in PBCs (C-B-A-B-C and A-B-C-B-A) significantly reduces crystallinity. Hence, it is anticipated that PBCs will have a faster rate of degradation relative to PCL-PEG-PCL based TB c opolyme rs. PBCs also exhibited excellent cell viability and biocompatibility on ARPE-19 (human retinal pigment epithelial cell line) and RAW- 264.7 (mouse macrophage cells), likely rendering it safe for ocular applications. Owing to biodegradability, thermosensi- tivity, ease of handling and biocompatibility PBC hydrogels can be considered as promising biomaterial for sustained de- livery of protein therapeutics to the back of the eye.

Novel Pentablock Copolymer-Based Nanoparticulate Systems for Sustained Protein Delivery

The design, synthesis, and application of novel biodegradable and biocompatible pentablock (PB) copolymers, i.e., polyglycolic acid-polycaprolactone-polyethylene glycol-polycaprolactone-polyglycolic acid (PGA-PCL-PEG-PCL-PGA) and polylactic acid-polycaprolactone-polyethylene glycol-polycaprolactone-polylactic acid (PLA-PCL-PEG-PCL-PLA) for sustained protein delivery, are reported. The PB copolymers can be engineered to generate sustained delivery of protein therapeutics to the posterior segment of the eye. PB copolymers with different block arrangements and molecular weights were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization and characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) was selected as a model protein due to its structural similarity to bevacizumab. The influence of polymer molecular weight, composition, and isomerism on formulation parameters such as entrapment efficiency, drug loading, and in vitro release profile was delineated. Crystallinity and molecular weight of copolymers exhibited a substantial effect on formulation parameters. A secondary structure of released IgG was confirmed by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. In vitro cytotoxicity, cell viability, and biocompatibility studies performed on human retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19) and/or macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7) demonstrated PB copolymers to be excellent biomaterials. Novel PB polymers may be the answer to the unmet need of a sustained release protein formulation.

Optimization of novel pentablock copolymer based composite formulation for sustained delivery of peptide/protein in the treatment of ocular diseases

Abstract This manuscript is focussed on the development of pentablock (PB) copolymer based sustained release formulation for the treatment of posterior segment ocular diseases. We have successfully synthesised biodegradable and biocompatible PB copolymers for the preparation of nanoparticles (NPs) and thermosensitive gel. Achieving high drug loading with hydrophilic biotherapeutics (peptides/proteins) is a challenging task. Moreover, small intravitreal injection volume (≤100 μL) requires high loading to develop a long term (six months) sustained release formulation. We have successfully investigated various formulation parameters to achieve maximum peptide/protein (octreotide, insulin, lysozyme, IgG-Fab, IgG, and catalase) loading in PB NPs. Improvement in drug loading can facilitate delivery of larger doses of therapeutic proteins via limited injection volume. A composite formulation comprised of NPs in gel system exhibited sustained release (without burst effect) of peptides and proteins, may serve as a platform technology for the treatment of posterior segment ocular diseases.

Reversible hydrophobic ion-paring complex strategy to minimize acylation of octreotide during long-term delivery from PLGA microparticles.

Acylation of peptide has been reported for a number of peptides and proteins during release from polymers comprising of lactide and glycolide. We hypothesize that reversible hydrophobic ion-pairing (HIP) complex may minimize octreotide acylation during release. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), dextran sulfate A (DSA, Mw 9-20 kDa) and dextran sulfate B (DSB, Mw 36-50 kDa) were selected as ion-pairing agents to prepare reversible HIP complex with octreotide. Complexation efficiency was optimized with respect to the mole ratio of ion-pairing agent to octreotide to achieve 100% complexation of octreotide. Dissociation studies suggested that DSA-octreotide and DSB-octreotide complexes dissociate completely at physiological pH in presence of counter ions unlike SDS-octreotide complex. DSA-octreotide and DSB-octreotide complex encapsulated PLGA microparticles (DSAMPs and DSBMPs) were prepared using the S/O/W emulsion method. Entrapment efficiencies for DSAMPs and DSBMPs were 74.7±8.4% and 81.7±6.3%, respectively. In vitro release of octreotide was performed by suspending MPs in gel. A large fraction of peptide was released in chemically intact form and <7% was acylated from DSAMPs and DSBMPs in gel over 55 days. Therefore, HIP complexation could be a viable strategy to minimize acylation of peptides and proteins during extended release from lactide and glycolide based polymers.