Thermosensitive Hydrogel Incorporating Microspheres for Injectable Implant Delivery of Naltrexone

Long-term drug delivery based on the injectable thermosensitive hydrogel is of great advantage to the administration of naltrexone, but the constant release is hard to reach due to the sol-gel transition and the high water content of the hydrogel. The aim of the present study is to develop an injectable implant delivery system by the incorporation of microspheres into thermosensitive hydrogel for the long-term constant release of naltrexone. Naltrexone was loaded in PLGA microsphere dispersed in the methylcellulose based thermosensitive sol, which formed the hydrogel containing the naltrexone-loaded microspheres at the body temperature. The presence of microsphere in the hydrogel delayed the sol-gel transition slightly but enhanced the mechanical strength of the hydrogel significantly. The microspheres degradation in water diffusion dominated phase was decelerated when they were embed in the hydrogel. The in vitro naltrexone release from the microsphere/hydrogel system showed an over 60 days constant release with no significant burst release, and the drug release rate was in proportion to the microsphere concentration in the hydrogel.