ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVEP: To determine the ex vivo human placental transfer of glyburide from maternal circulation to the fetal circulation in Chinese Hans population. METHODS: Perfusion studies were performed on thirty-six placentas from healthy term pregnancies. The circulation of mother-placenta-fetus was set up ex vivo within minutes and accessed by studying spectrometry. Integrity and viability of the placenta were determined by measuring fetal volume loss, pH, pO2, ΔhCG, glucose consumption and lactate production during the perfusion experiments. RESULTS: Following 3 h of perfusion, the fetal transfer rate of glyburide was (1.64±0.85)%. The clearance index of glyburide was (0.05±0.03). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that tiny amount of glyburide can cross the human placenta. Glyburide could be used as a clinically effective alternative to insulin therapy.