Graduate Student University of Texas At Austin Austin, Texas
LAIs are becoming increasingly prevalent in the drug product market for delivery of drugs to maintain a therapeutic effect over weeks or even years. LAIs improve efficacy, safety, and patient adherence due to their controlled drug release rate and localized delivery. In this study, we aim to correlate physicochemical properties to drug release mechanisms of high drug load subdermal implants similar to Nexplanon. In vitro release studies were conducted to elucidate drug release mechanisms and correlate them to physicochemical changes that occurred in the implant during manufacture and storage. Diffusion cell studies were conducted using EVA films to measure transport properties of drug in EVA and predict release from implants based on fundamental mass transport principles. Finally, microcomputed tomography (microCT) was conducted to analyze implant microstructure to better understand deviations between actual and predicted release. LAIs can be rationally designed to achieve a target release profile based on detailed understanding of fundamental transport properties.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, participants will be able to understand the correlation between fundamental transport properties and implant release behavior
Upon completion, participants will be able to correlate physicochemical changes that occur during and after implant manufacture to release mechanisms
Upon completion, participants will be able to understand deviations in actual and predicted implant release release