Biodegradable Poly(ester-urethane) Carriers Exhibiting Controlled Release of Epirubicin.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop the perspective biodegradable poly(ester-urethane) (PUR) carriers based on "predominantly isotactic" and atactic polylactides (PLAs), and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), for the controlled release of epirubicin (EPI). METHODS: The biodegradable PURs containing different soft segments as new and effective carriers of EPI have been obtained. The preliminary studies on toxicity and degradation of obtained polymers, and the release of the EPI from PUR carriers were carried out. RESULTS: We found that the kinetic release of EPI from the obtained PUR carriers tested in vitro at 37°C and pH 7.4 was strongly dependent on the kind of the polyesters, used as the soft segment in PURs synthesis. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the EPI was released from various synthesized carriers in a rather regular manner, according to the diffusion-degradation and degradation mechanisms. Importantly, in some cases, the kinetics of the EPI release was nearly zero-order. CONCLUSION: The results show that the obtained PURs are very effective and perspective carriers and might be potentially applied in the technology of high controlled EPI delivery systems.

Efficient Diethylzinc/Gallic Acid and Diethylzinc/Gallic Acid Ester Catalytic Systems for the Ring-Opening Polymerization of rac-Lactide.

Polylactide (PLA) represents one of the most promising biomedical polymers due to its biodegradability, bioresorbability and good biocompatibility. This work highlights the synthesis and characterization of PLAs using novel diethylzinc/gallic acid (ZnEt2/GAc) and diethylzinc/propyl gallate (ZnEt2/PGAc) catalytic systems that are safe for human body. The results of the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of rac-lactide (rac-LA) in the presence of zinc-based catalytic systems have shown that, depending on the reaction conditions, "predominantly isotactic", disyndiotactic or atactic PLA can be obtained. Therefore, the controlled and stereoselective ROP of rac-LA is discussed in detail in this paper.

Novel zinc-catalytic systems for ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone.

Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a biodegradable synthetic polymer that is currently widely used in many pharmaceutical and medical applications. In this paper we describe the coordination ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone in the presence of two newly synthesized catalytic systems: diethylzinc/gallic acid and diethylzinc/propyl gallate. The chemical structures of the obtained PCLs were characterized by 1H- or 13C-NMR, FTIR spectroscopy and MALDI TOF mass spectrometry. The average molecular weight of the resulting polyesters was analysed by gel permeation chromatography and a viscosity method. The effects of temperature, reaction time and type of catalytic system on the polymerization process were examined. Linear PCLs with defined average molecular weight were successfully obtained. Importantly, in some cases the presence of macrocyclic products was not observed during the polymerization process. This study provides an effective method for the synthesis of biodegradable polyesters for medical and pharmaceutical applications due to the fact that gallic acid/propyl gallate are commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry.

[Perspectives of use of polymer carriers of epidoxorubicin and cyclophosphamide in cancer therapy]. / Perspektywy wykorzystania polimerowych nosników epidoksorubicyny i cyklofosfamidu w terapii nowotworów.

Cancer diseases are an important problem of the contemporary clinical medicine and pharmacology. Chemotherapy using cytostatic drugs has developed in the last 30 years. At present, it is the main method of therapy of metastatic cancers. Cytostatics have an important role in the cancer therapy. They have particular meaning in the therapy of solid and hematological tumors. However, using cytostatic drugs is limited due to their toxic effects on healthy cells. In last years, the decrease of toxicity of cytostatic drugs and the increase of their therapeutic properties are intensively investigated. In this paper, the polymer carriers of cytostatic drugs (mainly epirubicin and cyclophosphamide) and examples of their applications were described.

Synthesis and study of controlled release of ofloxacin from polyester conjugates.

New polymeric conjugates were prepared coupling ofloxacin to two-, three-, four and six-arm, star-shaped poly(ɛ-caprolactone) and polylactide. The homopolymers were synthesized via ring-opening polymerization of ɛ-caprolactone, l-lactide and rac-lactide in the presence of glycerol, penthaerythritol, dipentaerythritol and poly(ethylene glycol) as initiators and stannous octoate as a catalyst. The conjugates were characterized by GPC, MALDI-TOF MS, NMR, IR and viscosity methods. Content of Sn has been investigated in polymers by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. Toxicity of monomers, initiators and polymers were evaluated with bacterial luminescence test and two protozoan assays. The in vitro release of ofloxacin from obtained conjugates in pH 7 was investigated.