PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Angelique Wolter
AU  - Christian H. Bucher
AU  - Sebastian Kurmies
AU  - Viktoria Schreiner
AU  - Frank Konietschke
AU  - Katharina Hohlbaum
AU  - Robert Klopfleisch
AU  - Max Löhning
AU  - Christa Thöne-Reineke
AU  - Frank Buttgereit
AU  - Jörg Huwyler
AU  - Paulin Jirkof
AU  - Anna E. Rapp
AU  - Annemarie Lang
TI  - A Buprenorphine depot formulation provides effective sustained post-surgical analgesia for 72h in mouse femoral fracture models
AID  - 10.1101/2022.07.05.498859
DP  - 2022 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2022.07.05.498859
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/08/06/2022.07.05.498859.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/08/06/2022.07.05.498859.full
AB  - Adequate pain management is essential for ethical and scientific reasons in animal experiments and should completely cover the period of expected pain without the need for frequent re-application. However, current depot formulations of Buprenorphine are only available in the USA and have limited duration of action. Recently, a new microparticulate Buprenorphine formulation (BUP-Depot) for sustained release has been developed as an alternative product within Europe. Pharmacokinetics indicate a potential effectiveness for about 72h. Here, we investigated whether the administration of the BUP-Depot ensures continuous and sufficient analgesia in two mouse femoral fracture models and could therefore serve as a potent alternative to the application of Tramadol via drinking water. Both protocols were examined for analgesic effectiveness, side effects on experimental readout, and effects on fracture healing outcomes in male and female C57BL/6N mice. The BUP-Depot provided effective analgesia for 72h, comparable to the effectiveness of Tramadol in drinking water. Fracture healing outcome was not different between analgesic regimes. The availability of a Buprenorphine depot formulation for laboratory animals in Europe would be a beneficial addition for extended pain relief in mice, thereby increasing animal welfare.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.