fumarates and sebacic-acid

Linear unsaturated oligo-anhydrides containing terminal acylchloride groups have been synthesized by polycondensation of fumaric or sebacic acid with either fumaryl chloride or sebacoyl chloride. Reaction of these oligo-anhydrides with poly(ethylene glycol) produce di- and tri-block copolymers. The oligo-anhydrides and block copolymers have been characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), NMR and FT-IR spectroscopies. The tri-block copolymers composed of two PEG end blocks and an oligo-anhydride center block have been used in encapsulation of calcein (encapsulation efficiency up to 40%). Encapsulation and release profile of calcein (as a model hydrophilic drug) from the di-block copolymers (micelles) and tri-block copolymer vesicles (polymersomes) as well as their in-vitro hydrolytic degradation (pH=7.4 degrees C, 37 degrees C) are reported.

Topics: Biocompatible Materials; Biodegradation, Environmental; Chromatography, Gel; Decanoic Acids; Dicarboxylic Acids; Drug Carriers; Drug Delivery Systems; Fumarates; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Micelles; Polyethylene Glycols; Polymers; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared

Polymer microspheres (0.5-5.0 microm) are difficult to characterize in vivo because they degrade, migrate, and are endocytosed. A novel polyethylene mesh pouch containing microspheres allowed for retrieval of degraded polymeric products from rats without affecting the rate of degradation. Pouches containing poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) or poly(fumaric-co-sebacic acid) (P(FASA)) microspheres were implanted intramuscularly, subcutaneously, and intraperitoneally and analyzed after 3, 7, 14, and 28 days. In vivo, subcutaneous or intraperitoneal implants experienced an immediate mass loss and a delayed decrease in molecular weight (Mw). Intramuscular implants behaved similarly to in vitro samples, decreasing in Mw immediately and lagging in mass loss. These results suggest that mass loss, which is usually dependent on Mw loss in vitro, may be directly due to enzymatic, rather than hydrolytic, degradation subcutaneously and intraperitoneally, while intramuscular implants appear to be mostly dependent on hydrolytic cleavage. This observation is further supported by histology. Additional experiments on pouches loaded with PLGA microspheres encapsulating osteoprotegerin, a protein drug used to prevent bone resorption, revealed that use of the device prevented the artifactual polymer compression inherent to microsphere centrifugation during release studies and allowed for the extraction of active protein from microspheres implanted for 3 days in vivo.

Topics: Absorbable Implants; Animals; Biocompatible Materials; Chromatography; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Decanoic Acids; Dicarboxylic Acids; Fumarates; Glycoproteins; Lactic Acid; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Microspheres; Molecular Weight; Muscles; Organ Size; Osteoprotegerin; Polyethylenes; Polyglycolic Acid; Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; Polymers; Rats; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; Time Factors

The degradation of three poly(fumaric-co-sebacic anhydride) [P(FA:SA)] copolymers is examined in a composition of microspheres made by the hot melt encapsulation process. The emergence of low molecular weight oligomers occurs during degradation of the copolymer microspheres, as evidenced by a variety of characterization methods. Characterization was conducted to determine the extent of degradation of the polyanhydride microspheres using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction. It is demonstrated that degradation of P(FA:SA) is greatly accelerated at basic pH, yet there is little difference between degradation in neutral and acidic buffers. A good correlation exists between the results of each characterization method, which allows a better understanding of the degradation process and the resulting formation of low molecular weight oligomers in poly(fumaric-co-sebacic anhydride).

Topics: Anhydrides; Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; Chromatography, Gel; Decanoic Acids; Dicarboxylic Acids; Drug Delivery Systems; Fumarates; Microspheres; Polymers; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; X-Ray Diffraction

A gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method using an ion trap GC/MS system was developed to quickly screen urine samples for 14 organic acids associated with multiple organic acidemias. The following organic acids are used as diagnostic markers: methylmalonic acid, glutaric acid, 2-ketoisocaproic acid, succinylacetone, 3-methylcrotonylglycine, tiglylglycine, isovalerylglycine, fumaric acid, butyrylglycine, propionylglycine, hexanoylglycine, adipic acid, suberic acid, and sebacic acid. 2-ketocaproic acid is used as an internal standard. The samples are prepared using a solid-phase extraction and converted to trimethylsilyl derivatives. The extraction efficiency for the 14 compounds is between 57 and 106%. A derivatized standard mixture of the 14 markers is run prior to the patient samples to determine the accurate absolute and relative retention times. The samples are then injected and the product ion spectra monitored. For data analysis, one characteristic product ion plot is extracted for each of the 14 marker compounds, and the presence of a peak with the expected retention time is determined. The areas of the product ion peaks are compared with the reference range determined from 30 normal controls. Ten samples of patients with known organic acidemias were measured. For all patients, diagnostic peaks at the expected retention times of at least five times the upper limit of the reference range were detected. The method, with its relatively fast sample preparation, short 10.0 min run time and simple data analysis, is suitable for use as a quick metabolic screen of very sick patients in whom there is concern regarding the possibility of a treatable inborn error.

Topics: Acids; Adipates; Automation; Biomarkers; Caprylates; Decanoic Acids; Dicarboxylic Acids; Fumarates; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Glutarates; Humans; Keto Acids; Mass Screening; Metabolism, Inborn Errors; Methylmalonic Acid; Reference Values; Sensitivity and Specificity; Urinalysis

Biologically adhesive delivery systems offer important advantages over conventional drug delivery systems. Here we show that engineered polymer microspheres made of biologically erodable polymers, which display strong adhesive interactions with gastrointestinal mucus and cellular linings, can traverse both the mucosal absorptive epithelium and the follicle-associated epithelium covering the lymphoid tissue of Peyer's patches. The polymers maintain contact with intestinal epithelium for extended periods of time and actually penetrate it, through and between cells. Thus, once loaded with compounds of pharmacological interest, the microspheres could be developed as delivery systems to transfer biologically active molecules to the circulation. We show that these microspheres increase the absorption of three model substances of widely different molecular size: dicumarol, insulin and plasmid DNA.

Topics: Adhesiveness; Administration, Oral; Area Under Curve; beta-Galactosidase; Biological Availability; Blood Glucose; Decanoic Acids; Dicarboxylic Acids; Dicumarol; Drug Delivery Systems; Fumarates; Gene Transfer Techniques; Insulin; Intestinal Mucosa; Microscopy, Electron; Microspheres; Mucous Membrane; Peyer's Patches; Plasmids; Polymers; Tissue Distribution