Oil-based depot formulations may constitute a future delivery method for small peptides. Thus, a requirement is attainment of sufficient oil solubility for such active compounds. A model dipeptide (Gly-Phe) has been converted into lipophilic prodrugs by esterification at the C-terminal carboxylic acid group. The decomposition kinetics of octyl ester of Gly-Phe (IV) has been investigated at pH 7.4 (37° C) and IV was shown to degrade by first-order ...
