Intra-articular Treatment of Osteoarthritis with Diclofenac-Conjugated Polymer Reduces Inflammation and Pain.

The most common treatment for osteoarthritis is daily oral administration of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug such as diclofenac. This daily dosage regime is often associated with severe side effects. In this study, we explored the potential of utilizing a high molecular weight cross-linked polyurethane polymer covalently linked to diclofenac (C-DCF-PU) for intra-articular administration. We aim to exploit the advantages of local drug delivery by developing an implant with improved efficacy and reduced side effects. The polymer was synthesized from a diclofenac-functionalized monomer unit in a simple one-pot reaction, followed by cross-linking. In vitro drug release studies showed zero-order drug release for 4 days, followed by a gradual decline in drug release rate until diclofenac was depleted after 15 days. The cross-linked polymer was triturated to yield an injectable microgel formulation for administration. Whole animal fluorescence imaging of the rhodamine-labeled C-DCF-RH-PU showed good retention of the polymer in the knee joints of healthy rats, with approximately 30% of the injected dose still present 2 weeks post intra-articular administration. In a reactivation arthritis animal model, the C-DCF-RH-PU formulation reduced pain and significantly reduced inflammation after a short lag phase, showing that this drug delivery system warrants further development for long-term treatment of osteoarthritis with the benefit of reduced side effects.

Precise control of drug loading and release of an NSAID-polymer conjugate for long term osteoarthritis intra-articular drug delivery.

A facile synthesis method of polymer diclofenac conjugates (PDCs) based on biocompatible polyurethane chemistry that provides a high drug loading and offers a high degree of control over diclofenac (DCF) release kinetics is described. DCF incorporating monomer was reacted with ethyl-l-lysine diisocyanate (ELDI) and different amounts of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in a one-step synthesis to yield polymers with pendent diclofenac distributed along the backbone. By adjusting the co-monomers feed ratio, the drug loading could be tailored accordingly to give DCF loading of up to 38 w/w%. The release rate could also be controlled easily by changing the amount of PEG in the backbone. Above 10 w/w% of PEG, the in vitro DCF release studies in physiological conditions showed an apparent zero-order profile without an initial burst effect for up to 120 days. The PDCs described may be suitable for long-term intra-articular (IA) delivery for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA).

The Hydrolysis of Diclofenac Esters: Synthetic Prodrug Building Blocks for Biodegradable Drug-Polymer Conjugates.

Degradation reactions on diclofenac-monoglycerides (3a,b), diclofenac-(p-hydroxybenzoate)-2-monoglyceride (3c), diclofenac (1), and diclofenac lactam (4) were performed at 37 °C in isotonic buffer solutions (apparent pH range 1-8) containing varying concentrations of acetonitrile (ACN). The concentration remaining of each analyte was measured versus time. Diclofenac-monoglycerides and diclofenac-(p-hydroxybenzoate)-2-monoglyceride (3c) were both found to undergo facile and complete hydrolysis in pH 7.4 isotonic phosphate buffer/10% ACN. Under mildly acidic, neutral or alkaline conditions, diclofenac-(p-hydroxybenzoate)-2-monoglyceride (3c) had the fastest hydrolysis rate (t1/2 = 3.23 h at pH 7.4), with simultaneous formation of diclofenac lactam (4) and diclofenac (1). Diclofenac-monoglycerides (3a,b) hydrolyzed more slowly under the same conditions, to again yield both diclofenac (1) and diclofenac lactam (4). There was also transesterification of diclofenac-2-monoglyceride (3b) to its regioisomer, diclofenac-1-monoglyceride (3a) across the pH range. Diclofenac was shown to be stable in neutral or alkaline conditions but cyclized to form the lactam (4) in acidic conditions. Conversely, the lactam (4) was stable under acidic conditions but was converted to an unknown species under alkaline or neutral conditions.

1,3-Dipolar cycloaddition-decarboxylation reactions of an azomethine ylide with isatoic anhydrides: formation of novel benzodiazepinones.

A nonstabilized azomethine ylide reacts with a wide range of substituted isatoic anhydrides to afford novel 1,3-benzodiazepin-5-one derivatives, which are generally isolated in high yield. The transformations involve 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of the ylide with the anhydrides to give transient, and in a representative case spectroscopically observable, oxazolidine intermediates that undergo ring-opening-decarboxylation-ring-closing reaction cascades to yield the 1,3-benzodiazepin-5-one products.

Biogenetic-type synthesis of (+)-cymbodiacetal, a constituent of Cymbopogon martinii.

A biogenetic-type synthesis of (+)-cymbodiacetal (1), a novel bismonoterpenoid dihemiacetal, is described.