Systemic Delivery of Cetrorelix to Rats by a New Aerosol Delivery System

Purpose. To study the pulmonary absorption and tolerability of various formulations of the decapeptide cetrorelix acetate in rats by a new aerosol delivery system (ASTA-ADS) for intratracheal application. Methods. Using the ASTA-ADS, cetrorelix liquid formulations (aqueous solutions for ultrasonic nebulization) were firstly selected and subsequently delivered as nebulized aerosol to orotracheally cannulated rats. The pharmacologic effect (decrease of testosterone serum level) of four cetrorelix formulations was determined in rats by enzyme linked immunosorbant assay, and pharmacokinetic data were determined after measurement of cetrorelix serum level by radioimmunoassay. Histological examination of the lung was performed at the end of the experiments, and in a supplementary experiment the respiratory parameters (resistance and compliance) of rats were monitored by a validated pulmonary monitoring system during the aerosol application of the same formulations. Results. After an exposure time of 5 min, the applied formulations reduced the testosterone concentration in serum to subnormal levels (1 ng/ml) over a period of 24 h. Comparing the plasma concentration after intratracheal aerosolization with data of intravenous administration, the mean calculated bioavailabilities for the four formulations using the corrected dose (delivered—exhaled amount) were between 48.4 ± 27.0% and 77.4 ± 44.0%. The histologic examination of the lungs revealed different tolerability of the various tested formulations ranging from locally intolerable to well tolerated. The measurement of the lung function parameters did not reveal any compound or formulation related changes. Conclusions. Our studies show that cetrorelix can be effectively administered as aerosol and that intratracheal aerosolization via the ASTA-ADS provides results that are well comparable to other application routes, as demonstrated by statistical comparison of the newly obtained data with previous results from intratracheal instillation of cetrorelix solutions in rats.