Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-2001
Abstract
Plasma and tissue disposition of a macromolecular prodrug of methylprednisolone (MP), dextran (70 kDa)–methylprednisolone succinate (DMP), was studied in rats. Single 5‐mg/kg doses of DMP or unconjugated MP were administered into the tail veins of different groups of rats (n = 4/group/time point). Blood (cardiac puncture) and tissues (liver, spleen, kidney, heart, lung, thymus, and brain) were collected at various times after DMP (0–96 h) or MP (0–2 h) injections. Concentrations of DMP and MP in samples were analyzed by size‐exclusion chromatography (SEC) and reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), respectively. Conjugation of MP with 70‐kDa dextran resulted in 22‐, 300‐, and 30‐fold decreases in the steady‐state volume of distribution, clearance, and terminal plasma rate constant of the steroid, respectively. As for tissue distribution, the conjugate delivered the steroid primarily to the spleen and liver as indicated by 19‐ and 3‐fold increases, respectively, in the tissue/plasma area under the curve (AUC) ratios of the steroid. On the other hand, the tissue/plasma AUC ratios of the prodrug in other organs were negligible. Active MP was released from DMP slowly in the spleen and liver, and AUCs of the regenerated MP in these tissues were 55‐ and 4.8‐fold, respectively, higher than those after the administration of the parent drug. In contrast, no parent drug was detected in the plasma of DMP‐injected rats. These results indicate that DMP may be useful for the targeted delivery of MP to the spleen and liver where the active drug is slowly released.
Recommended Citation
Zhang X, Mehvar R. Dextran–methylprednisolone succinate as a prodrug of methylprednisolone: Plasma and tissue disposition. J Pharm Sci. 2001;90(12):2078-2087. doi:10.1002/jps.1158
Copyright
Elsevier
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
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Comments
NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, volume 90, issue 12, in 2001. DOI: 10.1002/jps.1158
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