Stability of poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) and leuprolide acetate in in-situ forming drug delivery systems

In-situ forming drug delivery systems are prepared by dissolving a drug and a biodegradable polymer (poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide), PLGA) in a biocompatible organic solvent (In-situ implant, ISI) or further emulsified into an external phase (oil or aqueous solution), resulting in oil-in-oil or oil-in-water emulsions (In-situ forming microparticles, ISM). The chemical stability of PLGA and the drug is a major concern. In this study, the stability of PLGA and leuprolide acetate in the in-situ forming systems and lyophilized sponges was investigated. The degradation of PLGA increased with increasing storage temperature and water content in the biocompatible solvents. A faster degradation occurred in polar protic solvents (2-pyrrolidone, PEG 400, triethyl citrate) than in polar aprotic solvents (N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, DMSO, triacetin, ethyl acetate). The presence of leuprolide acetate significantly accelerated PLGA degradation, especially in solution state. PLGA was stable in oily suspensions at 4 °C and degraded only slightly faster than solid powder at 25 °C. No interaction between the oils and the PLGA was observed as indicated by an unchanged Tg of approx. 47 °C. PLGA underwent a slight degradation at 4 °C after 150 days in water and saturated sodium chloride solution. The degradation was slower in saturated sodium chloride solution than in water at 25 °C. Residual acetic acid in lyophilized sponges facilitated the PLGA degradation in contrast to dioxane. Leuprolide acetate did not affect the PLGA stability negatively. However, lidocaine significantly enhanced the polymer degradation in the sponges. Finally, leuprolide acetate was chemically stable in the sponges, the oils and the polymer solutions in suspension state, but unstable (aggregation) when dissolved in the polymer solutions and stored at 25 °C and 40 °C.