Evaluation of in vitro release profiles of fentanyl-loaded PLGA oligomer microspheres

In order to the development of the delivery device of long-acting local anesthetics for postoperative analgesia and control of chronic pain of cancer patient, fentanyl-loaded poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA, molecular weight, 5,000 g/mole; 50:50 mole ratio by lactide to glycolide) microspheres (FMS) were studied. FMS were prepared by an emulsion solvent-evaporation method. The influence of several preparation parameters such as initial drug loading, PLGA concentration, emulsifier concentration, oil phase volume, and fabrication temperature has been investigated on the fentanyl release profiles. Generally, the drug showed the biphasic release patterns, with an initial diffusion followed by a lag period before the onset of the degradation phase, but there was no lag time in our system. Fentanyl was slowly released from FMS over 10 days in vitro with a quasi-zero order property. The release rate increased with increasing drug loading as well as decreasing polymer concentration with relatively small initial burst effect. From the results, FMS may be a good formulation to deliver the anesthetic for the treatment of chronic pain.