Sustained release formulation of erythropoietin using hyaluronic acid hydrogels crosslinked by Michael addition

A novel sustained release formulation of erythropoietin (EPO) was successfully developed using hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogels crosslinked by Michael addition. Adipic acid dihydrazide grafted HA (HA-ADH) was prepared and then modified into methacrylated HA (HA-MA). 1H NMR analysis showed that the degrees of HA-ADH and HA-MA modification were 69 and 29 mol%, respectively. Using the specific crosslinkers of dithiothreitol (DTT) and peptide linker, EPO was loaded during HA-MA hydrogel preparation by Michael addition chemistry between thiol and methacrylate groups. The amount of EPO recovered from both hydrogels after degradation with hyaluronidase SD (HAse SD) was about 90%. The crosslinking reaction with peptide linker (GCYKNRDCG) was faster than that with DTT. The gelation time was about 30 min for peptide linker and 180 min for DTT. In vitro release test of EPO from HA-MA hydrogel at 37 °C showed that EPO was released rapidly for 2 days and then slowly up to 7 days from HA-MA hydrogels. The released EPO appeared to be intact from the analysis with RP-HPLC. According to in vivo release test of EPO from HA-MA hydrogels crosslinked with the peptide linker in Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats, elevated plasma concentration of EPO was maintained up to 7 days. There was no adverse effect during and after the in vivo tests.