Development of poly(ortho esters): a historical overview.

At the present time, three poly(ortho ester) systems have been described. The first one was developed at the Alza Corporation and is prepared by the transesterification reaction between a diol and diethoxytetrahydrofuran. It is currently marketed under the trade name of Alzamer. A second poly(ortho ester) system, developed at SRI International, is prepared by the addition of polyols to the diketene acetal 3,9 bis (ethylidene 2,4,8,10 tetraoxaspiro [5,5] undecane). A third poly (ortho ester) system, also developed at SRI International, is prepared by a transesterification reaction between a triol and an ortho ester, followed by self-condensation of the reaction product. Major utility of poly(ortho esters) as bioerodible drug delivery devices resides in their acid sensitivity which allows preparation of devices with lifetimes ranging from hours to many months by using acidic or basic excipients physically incorporated into the matrix.