Binding of selected drugs to a "treated" inline filter

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Science
• Biomaterials Science
• Drug Delivery Systems

Background:

• Intravenous (I.V.) filters are crucial for patient safety during drug administration.
• Drug binding to I.V. filters can reduce the effective dose delivered to patients.
• Cellulose ester filters are commonly used but can exhibit drug-binding properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of a proprietary treatment in reducing drug binding to cellulose ester I.V. filters.
• To quantify the binding of specific drugs to treated and untreated I.V. filters under simulated administration conditions.
• To compare the binding characteristics of various drugs, including mithramycin, vincristine sulfate, digitoxin, insulin, dactinomycin, and nitroglycerin.

Main Methods:

• Simulated I.V. administration of drug solutions (mithramycin, vincristine sulfate, digitoxin, insulin, dactinomycin, nitroglycerin) through treated and untreated 0.22-micron cellulose ester filters.
• Assay of drug concentrations before and after filtration to determine retained amounts.
• Equilibrium binding studies using treated and untreated filter membrane pieces incubated in drug solutions.

Main Results:

• Treated filters showed significantly reduced binding (<6%) for mithramycin, vincristine sulfate, dactinomycin, and nitroglycerin compared to untreated filters.
• Digitoxin and insulin binding was reduced to 8-12% with treated filters.
• Untreated filters bound 2-20 times more drug compared to treated filters, with notable exceptions for nitroglycerin.
• Insulin exhibited higher binding in 5% dextrose injection than in 0.9% sodium chloride injection, irrespective of filter treatment.

Conclusions:

• The proprietary treatment effectively minimizes drug binding to cellulose ester I.V. filters.
• This treatment facilitates improved drug delivery, ensuring patients receive the intended therapeutic dose.
• The findings support the use of treated I.V. filters for enhanced drug administration safety and efficacy.