Potential Improvement in Shelf Life Using the Prodrug Approach. II. A Systematic Examination of Kinetic Requirements

The utilization time (UT) for a solution of a prodrug that is rapidly and completely converted to drug in the blood may be longer than the time for 10% loss of the initial concentration. The UT for an intravenous prodrug solution is the period during which the total prodrug and drug concentration exceeds 90% of the initial concentration. The influence of the rate of prodrug degradation (knc), its conversion (kc) to drug, and the subsequent drug degradation (kh) on the UT of a stored solution was examined by simulating the prodrug and drug concentration–time courses. The ratio of the shelf life of a prodrug solution to that of the parent drug (UTratio) was calculated using a wide range of values for the three rate constants. Three-dimensional plots relating the UTratio to the kc, knc, and kh values provide a basis for making a priori assessments of kinetic requirements for designing a prodrug to increase storage time. A parenteral prodrug intended to increase storage time may have a larger overall rate of loss than the parent drug, but it must have a smaller degradation rate (knc < kh) to be successful. The UT for an oral prodrug solution depends upon the bioavailability of the prodrug relative to the drug in addition to the values for knc, kc, and kh. Two ampicillin prodrugs were used as models to calculate actual UTratio versus pH profiles. Intravenous solutions showed modest gains in the UTratio in the acid region, whereas oral solutions reached a UTratio as high as 22 by combining favorable rate constants with increased bioavailability. These actual UTratio versus pH profiles were interpreted in terms of the theory established using the simulations.