title: Modeling of Progesterone Release from Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) Membranes.
abstract: Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) biodegradable polymeric membranes were evaluated as platform for progesterone (Prg)-controlled release. In the design of new drug delivery systems, it is important to understand the mass transport mechanism involved, as well as predict the process kinetics. Drug release experiments were conducted and the experimental results were evaluated using engineering approaches that were extrapolated to the pharmaceutical field by our research group. Membranes were loaded with different Prg concentrations and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). SEM images showed that membranes have a dense structure before and after the progesterone addition. DSC and FTIR allowed determining the influence of the therapeutic agent in the membrane properties. The in vitro experiments were performed using two different techniques: (A) returning the sample to the receptor solution (constant volume of the delivery medium) and (B) extracting total volume of the receptor solution. In this work, we present a simple and accurate "lumped" second-order kinetic model. This lumped model considers the different mass transport steps involved in drug release systems. The model fits very well the experimental data using any of the two experimental procedures, in the range 0 ≤ t ≤ ∞ or 0 ≤ M t  ≤ M ∞. The drug release analysis using our proposed approaches is relevant for establishing in vitro-in vivo correlations in future tests in animals.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ingeniería, Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Química (INIQUI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Salta, Av. Bolivia 5150, A4408FVY, Salta Capital, Argentina.
authors.forename: Analia I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ingeniería, Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Química (INIQUI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Salta, Av. Bolivia 5150, A4408FVY, Salta Capital, Argentina. jbermudez@unsa.edu.ar.
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bermudez
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ingeniería, Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Química (INIQUI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Salta, Av. Bolivia 5150, A4408FVY, Salta Capital, Argentina.
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Villegas
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ingeniería, Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Química (INIQUI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Salta, Av. Bolivia 5150, A4408FVY, Salta Capital, Argentina.
authors.forename: María F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Dib Ashur
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ingeniería, Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Química (INIQUI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Salta, Av. Bolivia 5150, A4408FVY, Salta Capital, Argentina.
authors.forename: Mónica L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Parentis
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ingeniería, Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Química (INIQUI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Salta, Av. Bolivia 5150, A4408FVY, Salta Capital, Argentina.
authors.forename: Elio E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Gonzo
mesh_terms: D020155:3-Hydroxybutyric Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning / Q000379:methods; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods; D006885:Hydroxybutyrates / Q000737:chemistry*; D007700:Kinetics; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D011374:Progesterone / Q000737:chemistry*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared / Q000379:methods; D000094122:Polyhydroxybutyrates
chemical_list: D020155:3-Hydroxybutyric Acid; D006885:Hydroxybutyrates; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; D011374:Progesterone; C003182:poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate; D000094122:Polyhydroxybutyrates
keywords: biodegradable polymers; controlled release/delivery; drug transport; mathematical models; membranes