Sustained interferon-gamma delivery from a photocrosslinked biodegradable elastomer.

Sustained interferon-gamma delivery from a photocrosslinked biodegradable elastomer.
February 2005
Gu F, a, Younes HM, b, El-Kadi AO, b, Neufeld RJ, a, Amsden BG. a,b
a Department of Chemical Engineering, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6.
bFaculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2N8
Journal of Controlled Release Volume 102, Issue 3 , 16 February 2005, Pages 607-617
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Abstract
The application of protein therapeutics for long-term, localized delivery has been hindered by a lack of a delivery device that releases active protein at a concentration within their therapeutic window. A protein delivery system that uses an osmotic pressure delivery mechanism and a photocrosslinked biodegradable elastomer has been designed in an attempt to overcome this limitation. The elastomer is prepared through the UV initiated crosslinking of end terminal acrylated star-poly(e-caprolactone-co-D,L-lactide). Interferon-? (IFN-?) was released from the optimum formulation at a constant rate of 23 ng/day over 21 days. A cell-based assay showed that over 83% of released IFN-? was bioactive. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that bovine serum albumin co-lyophilized with IFN-? was released at the same rate as IFN-?. This delivery formulation may be clinically useful for sustained, local protein drug delivery applications.