title: PolyMorphine: an innovative biodegradable polymer drug for extended pain relief.
abstract: Morphine, a potent narcotic analgesic used for the treatment of acute and chronic pain, was chemically incorporated into a poly(anhydride-ester) backbone. The polymer termed "PolyMorphine", was designed to degrade hydrolytically releasing morphine in a controlled manner to ultimately provide analgesia for an extended time period. PolyMorphine was synthesized via melt-condensation polymerization and its structure was characterized using proton and carbon nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies, and infrared spectroscopy. The weight-average molecular weight and the thermal properties were determined. The hydrolytic degradation pathway of the polymer was determined by in vitro studies, showing that free morphine is released. In vitro cytocompatibility studies demonstrated that PolyMorphine is non-cytotoxic towards fibroblasts. In vivo studies using mice showed that PolyMorphine provides analgesia for 3 days, 20 times the analgesic window of free morphine. The animals retained full responsiveness to morphine after being subjected to an acute morphine challenge.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Roselin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosario-Meléndez
authors.forename: Carolyn L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Delgado-Rivera
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Kathryn E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Uhrich
mesh_terms: D016475:3T3 Cells; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009020:Morphine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011108:Polymers / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D011108:Polymers; D009020:Morphine