Improvement of the oral bioavailability of naltrexone in dogs: a prodrug approach.

In an effort to improve the oral bioavailability of naltrexone [17-(cyclopropylmethyl)-4,5 alpha-epoxy-3,14-dihydroxymorphinan-6-one;1], a number of prodrug esters on the 3-hydroxyl group were prepared: the anthranilate (2), acetylsalicylate (3), benzoate (4), and pivalate (5). The oral bioavailability of these prodrugs was determined in dogs. Compounds 2 and 3 exhibited the greatest enhancement of naltrexone bioavailability (45 and 28 times greater than 1, respectively). No correlation was found between the rates of plasma hydrolysis and bioavailability. Naltrexone-3-acetylsalicylate hydrolyzed in human and dog plasma with a fast deacetylation step to naltrexone salicylate followed by a slower hydrolysis step to naltrexone.