Ultrasound-Induced Release Profile of Nimodipine from Drug-Loaded Block Copolymers after Singular vs. Repeated Sonication: In Vitro Analysis in Artificial Cerebrospinal Fluid

Objective: Nimodipine still represents a unique selling point in the prevention of delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). Its intrathecal effect is limited by a low oral bioavailability, leading to the development of nanocarrier systems to overcome this limitation. This study investigated the ultrasound-induced release profile of nimodipine from drug-loaded copolymers in artificial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within 72 h after a singular versus repeated sonication. Methods: Pluronic® F127 copolymers (Sigma-Aldrich, Taufkirchen, Germany)were loaded with nimodipine by direct dissolution. Spontaneous and on-demand drug release by ultrasound (1 MHz at 1.7 W/cm2) was determined in artificial cerebrospinal fluid using the dialysis bag method. Nimodipine concentrations were measured at predefined time points within 72 h of sonication. Results: Spontaneous release of nimodipine was enhanced by ultrasound application with significantly increased nimodipine concentrations two hours after a repeated sonication compared to a singular sonication (median 1.62 vs. 17.48 µg/µL, p = 0.04). A further trend was observed after four hours (median 1.82 vs. 22.09 µg/µL, p = 0.06). There was no difference in the overall nimodipine concentrations between the groups with a singular versus repeated sonication (357.2 vs. 540.3 µg/µL, p = 0.60) after 72 h. Conclusions: Repeated sonication resulted in an acceleration of nimodipine release from the drug-loaded copolymer in a CSF medium. These findings confirm the proof of principle of an on-demand guidance of nimodipine release from nimodipine-loaded nanodrugs by means of ultrasound, which suggests that evaluating the concept in an animal model may be appropriate.