Synthesis, metabolism and cellular permeability of enzymatically stable dipeptide prodrugs of acyclovir

The objective of this study was to synthesize and evaluate novel enzymatically stable dipeptide prodrugs for improved absorption of acyclovir. l-Valine-l-valine-acyclovir (LLACV), l-valine-d-valine-acyclovir (LDACV), d-valine-l-valine-acyclovir (DLACV) and d-valine-d-valine-acyclovir (DDACV) were successfully synthesized. The uptake and transport studies were conducted on a Caco-2 cell line. Buffer stability and metabolism of the prodrugs in Caco-2, rat intestine and liver homogenates were studied.Structure and purity of the all compounds were confirmed with LC–MS/MS and NMR spectroscopy. Uptake and transport of [3H] glycylsarcosine was inhibited by all prodrugs except DDACV. DLACV and DDACV exhibited no measurable degradation in Caco-2 homogenate. Except DDACV other three prodrugs were hydrolyzed in rat intestine and liver homogenates. The order of permeability across Caco-2 was LDACV > LLACV > DDACV > DLACV. A linear correlation between the amount of prodrug transported and over all permeability of acyclovir was established. This study shows that the incorporation of one d-valine in a dipeptide did not abolish its affinity towards peptide transporters (PEPT). Moreover, it enhanced enzymatic stability of prodrug to a certain extent depending on the position in a dipeptide conjugate. This strategy improved both the cellular permeability and the amount of intact prodrug transported which would enable targeting the nutrient transporters at blood ocular barrier (BOB).