Modeling the Accumulation of Degradable Polymer Drug Carriers in the Brain. (10th June 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bolwerk, Celine; Govers, Larissa P. M. W. D.; Knol, Hanna; Oostendorp, Thom F.; Brock, Roland
• Is Part Of: ChemMedChem. Volume 13:Number 13(2018)
• Page Start: 1308
• Page End: 1310
• Publication Date: 2018-06-10
• Subjects: blood–brain barrier -- drug delivery -- nanoparticles -- simulation; Pharmaceutical chemistry -- Periodicals; 615.19005
• DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.201800186
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1860-7179

Abstract

Abstract: The blood–brain barrier (BBB) limits the access of drugs to the brain. Intensive research is being conducted on the development of nanoparticulate drug carriers that mediate transfer across the BBB. A question that has been neglected so far is the potential accumulation of the carrier in the brain upon long‐term exposure. Here, we address this question by implementing a kinetic model to relate drug loading, required concentration of drug in the brain, and drug clearance to the degradation half‐life of the carrier. As a test case with clinical relevance we chose poly‐lactic‐co‐glycolic‐acid (PLGA) as a carrier material and a chemotherapeutic for which the required parameters could be recovered from the literature. For methotrexate with a drug load of 8.5 %, a required concentration of free drug of 1 μm, a release from PLGA of 6 hours, a drug clearance from the brain of 3 hours and a half‐life of polymer degradation of 28 days, a steady‐state accumulation of 1.3 g polymer would be reached in the brain (1.5 L) after seven months. While this number is surprisingly small, further physiological research is warranted to assess to which degree this will be in a tolerable range. Abstract : Parked in the loading zone : Targeted drug delivery across the blood–brain barrier using polymer‐based nanoparticle formulations not only delivers drugs, but also the polymer. In this study, we implemented a simple model to address polymer accumulation over time assuming a long‐term application.