Controlled delivery of testosterone from smart polymer solution based systems: In vitro evaluation

The objective of this research is to develop injectable polymers solution based controlled release delivery systems for testosterone (TSN), using phase sensitive and thermosensitive polymers. A combination of poly(lactide) (PLA) and solvents mixture of benzyl benzoate (BB) and benzyl alcohol (BA) was used in the phase sensitive polymer delivery system. The effects of solvents system and drug loading on the in vitro TSN release were evaluated. In the case of thermosensitive polymer delivery systems, a series of low-molecular-weight poly(lactide-co-glycolide)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA-PEG-PLGA) triblock copolymers with varying ratio of lactide/glycolide (LA/GA, 2.0-3.5) were studied to control the release of TSN. The effects of varying block length of copolymers 1-4 on the in vitro TSN release were evaluated. Phosphate buffer saline (pH 7.4) containing 0.5% (w/v) Tween-80 was used as in vitro release medium. The amount of the released TSN was determined by an HPLC method. A controlled (zero-order) in vitro release of TSN was observed from both the phase sensitive and thermosensitive polymer delivery systems. Addition of BA (15%, v/v) in solvents system significantly (p < 0.05) increased the release rate of TSN (0.33 ± 0.01 mg/ml) from phase sensitive delivery system in comparison to solvent without BA (0.27 ± 0.00 mg/day). Increasing drug loading also increased release rate. In the case of thermosensitive polymer delivery system, increasing the hydrophobic PLGA block length of copolymers significantly (p < 0.05) decreased the release rate of TSN. It is evident from this study that the phase sensitive and thermosensitive polymers are suitable for developing prolong-release injectable implant delivery systems for TSN.