Local anesthetics adsorbed onto infusion balloon

We compared the adsorption of different local anesthetics onto infusion balloons and studied one of the possible mechanisms for adsorption. After injection of lidocaine, bupivacaine, ropivacaine, and mepivacaine solutions (1 mM each; pH 7.4) into balloons of 100-mL volume, their concentrations in effluents flowing out at 4 mL/h were determined over time by high-performance liquid chromatography. All were adsorbed in a structure-dependent manner, and the concentration decreased by 6%-14% within 5 min. Bupivacaine was most strongly adsorbed, followed by lidocaine, ropivacaine, and mepivacaine. QX-314, a quaternary ammonium derivative of lidocaine, was only weakly adsorbed compared with the parent compound lidocaine. The extent of adsorption of local anesthetics was related to their hydrophobicity (evaluated by reversed-phase chromatography) and was much more at pH 7.4 than at pH 6.0. A hydrophobic interaction with balloon materials appears to be responsible for the adsorption of local anesthetics. When infusion balloons are used for the continuous administration of local anesthetics, attention should be paid to the possibility that their actual concentrations in effluents are smaller than those present when they are initially prepared.