Drug Database
LE

leuprolide

✓ Approved

AimPharma · GNRHR · Small Molecule

What is leuprolide?

leuprolide is a small molecule developed by AimPharma. It is approved for therapeutic indications via injectable (others) or intramuscular (im) injection.

Drug Profile

CompanyAimPharma
Drug ClassSmall Molecule, Polypeptide
Molecular TargetGNRHR
RouteInjectable (Others), Intramuscular (IM) Injection
StatusApproved
Sources: ClinicalTrials.gov, AimPharma

Mechanism of Action

Molecular Targets

leuprolide acts on 1 molecular target:

GNRHRgonadotropin releasing hormone receptor (HH7, GRHR)
Want deeper analysis?Noah AI can explain complex mechanisms and compare to similar drugs.

Therapeutic Indications

leuprolide is developed for 4 unique indications across 3 therapeutic areas.

Therapeutic AreaConditionPhase
Neoplasms benign, malignant and unspecified (incl cysts and polyps)Prostate cancer✓ Approved
Reproductive system and breast disordersEndometriosis✓ Approved
Endocrine disordersPrecocious puberty✓ Approved
Reproductive system and breast disordersUterine fibrosis✓ Approved

Related Research Articles

PubMedLangmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids2026-05-24

Controllable Fabrication of Nanoporous Gold Microspheres from Low-Gold-Content Cu-Au Alloys for Stable, Deep-Pressing Electronic Packaging.

Zhang Li L, Zhang Wenhao W, Wang Zhaomeng Z, Fan Sining S et al.

Porous gold materials, with advantages such as low relative density and high chemical stability, are widely used in biosensing, chemical energy storage, etc. Currently, traditional methods still face challenges in the preparation of ultrafine nanoporous gold microspheres, which limit their application in advanced electronic packaging. In this study, we propose a strategy for the controlled preparation of nanoporous gold microspheres using low-gold-content alloy microspheres, which includes wet chemical reduction, crystal diffusion and growth, liquid-solid interfacial nonwetting effect, and chemical-free corrosion dealloying. Nanoindentation results show that, compared to the brittle crushing under deep pressing of polymer microspheres, the newly prepared nanoporous gold microspheres exhibit significantly low-pressure-stable deep-press anisotropic conductive properties. Specifically, the nanoporous gold microspheres achieve up to 80% compression deformation under a load of approximately 5 mN, primarily due to their unique nanoporous structure, reducing hardness. In terms of piezoresistive performance, the nanoporous gold microspheres maintain stable low-resistance conductive properties during both loading and unloading processes, which is mainly attributed to the large compression deformation enhancing the connection reliability between substrates. When applied to anisotropic conductive film preparation and device encapsulation testing, the results demonstrate that with a powder loading of 5 wt %, the nanoporous gold microsphere-based anisotropic conductive film exhibits a significantly wide pressure encapsulation range (0.1-0.5 MPa), which is directly related to the large compression deformation ability of the nanoporous gold microspheres. This ability can not only reduce the requirement for uniform particle size distribution and save sorting costs but also effectively improve the conductivity of interconnected devices.

PMID 42175927
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PubMedAmerican journal of clinical pathology2026-05-24

Radiation injury to the lung caused by yttrium-90 resin microspheres (SIR-Spheres) diagnosed by transbronchial lung biopsy.

Mukhopadhyay Sanjay S, Montgomery Jennifer J, Chughtai Aamer A, Eltz Soares Luciana L et al.

Yttrium-90 (90Y) is a radioactive isotope of yttrium used in transarterial radioembolization (also known as selective internal radiation therapy) of hepatocellular carcinoma and metastases to the liver. Although injury to the gastrointestinal tract due to escape of 90Y microspheres beyond the intended target neoplasm has been reported in the pathology literature, lung toxicity caused by 90Y microspheres has only rarely been documented. A 66-year-old woman with a history of ovarian serous carcinoma metastatic to the liver was treated with radioembolization of a liver metastasis with 90Y SIR-Spheres (Sirtex SIR-Spheres Pty Ltd) via the right hepatic artery. A few days later, she developed shortness of breath and was subsequently found to have bilateral evolving consolidations and ground-glass opacities on serial chest computed tomographic imaging. Transbronchial biopsy of the left lower lobe showed organizing acute lung injury along with rare eosinophils and 2 90Y microspheres. The patient was treated with corticosteroid therapy with significant clinical improvement. This is the first report of a case in which transbronchial lung biopsy led to diagnosis of 90Y-related radiation lung injury in a patient in whom this diagnosis was not previously suspected clinically or radiologically. We recommend adding 90Y to the list of etiologies of acute lung injury with eosinophils. Pathologists should familiarize themselves with the histologic appearance of 90Y microspheres because identification of these structures in the lung can be diagnostic.

PMID 42176341
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PubMedBiofabrication2026-05-23

Droplet microfluidic fabrication of stiffness-tunable alginate-Matrigel microspheres with innovative external gelation for high-throughput tumor organoid assays.

Wang Enmin E, Feng Guomeng G, Hu Haonan H, Zou Jiarong J et al.

Matrigel-based hydrogel microspheres fabricated using microfluidic technology have emerged as promising carriers for tumor organoid modeling. However, their intrinsic low stiffness limits their ability to mimic the mechanical properties of the native tumor microenvironment. To overcome this limitation, we developed an interpenetrating polymer network by incorporating alginate into Matrigel, yielding alginate-Matrigel (AM) composite hydrogel microspheres with tunable stiffness via droplet microfluidics technique. Additionally, to eliminate the cytotoxic effects associated with acidic conditions in alginate-based droplet microfluidics process by acid-driven gelation methods, a novel external gelation strategy was designed. A Ca2+ preloaded gelatin substrate (contact angle > 80°) was employed to receive AM droplets, enabling rapid in situ crosslinking and solidification. Notably, cells encapsulated within AM microspheres exhibited high viability throughout the gelation process, and the resulting microspheres displayed excellent sphericity and structural uniformity. The entire workflow-spanning droplet formation, allocation, gelation, culture, and drug testing-was integrated into a streamlined single-step process optimized for high-throughput screening. The stiffness significantly increased over 7-fold, elevating from 0.6 kPa in Matrigel microsphere to 5.0 kPa in AM microsphere. Compared to Matrigel-only microspheres, both patient-derived tumor organoids and cell line spheroids in AM microspheres demonstrate enhanced chemoresistance, as indicated by elevated IC50 values. Taken together, this simple, biocompatible, and reproducible fabrication strategy offers a powerful platform for organoid modeling, drug screening, and patient-relevant drug testing.

PMID 42173126
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PubMedCarbohydrate polymers2026-05-23

Interpenetrating polymer network microspheres based on alginate and thiolated CNF for tumor-triggered localized intratumoral therapy.

George Joy Jomon J, Sharma Garima G, Zhao Fanyu F, Kim Jin-Chul JC

Interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) microspheres composed of alginate and thiolated TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibers (Th-TCNF) were developed as reduction-responsive carriers for Mitoxantrone (MIT) delivery. TCNF was thiolated through covalent coupling with cysteamine, as confirmed by H NMR, FT-IR and XPS which successfully verified thiol grafting. Spray-dried microspheres were subsequently cross-linked via Ca2+ coordination and disulfide bond formation, generating a mechanically reinforced IPN structure. Swelling analysis showed significantly reduced equilibrium swelling in the full IPN compared with single-network controls, indicating restricted polymer mobility and enhanced structural stability. SEM revealed progressively denser surfaces with increasing Th-TCNF content, while TGA demonstrated improved thermal resistance. XPS of the microspheres confirmed reduction-induced disulfide cleavage, supporting redox-triggered release. FITC-dextran and MIT release exhibited reduction-dependent, composition-controlled behaviour, and flow cytometry (FACS) showed sustained intracellular MIT accumulation in MDA-MB-231 cells, leading to prolonged cytotoxicity. In vivo intratumoral administration in BALB/c nude mice bearing MDA-MB-231 xenografts produced significant tumor suppression with extensive necrosis and apoptosis, without systemic toxicity, verified by Histological (H&E) and TUNEL staining. Collectively, these findings highlight alginate: Th-TCNF IPN microspheres as a promising localized, reduction-responsive platform for enhancing chemotherapeutic efficacy while minimizing systemic toxicity.

PMID 42173573
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PubMedEnvironmental monitoring and assessment2026-05-23

Trophic transfer and egestion dynamics of microplastics in the Brachionus-Asplanchna rotifer system.

Jiménez-Contreras Jorge J, Salvador-Martínez Alejandro A, Jiménez-Santos Marco Antonio MA, Figueroa-Sánchez Michael Anai MA et al.

Microplastics have become a pervasive contaminant in freshwater ecosystems worldwide, raising concerns about their impact on aquatic life, especially zooplankton, which play a pivotal role in freshwater food webs. Despite their ecological importance, knowledge on how microplastics move through predator-prey interactions in microscopic communities remains limited. We investigated this question using a classic freshwater system: the filter-feeding rotifer Brachionus caudatus and its predator, Asplanchna brightwellii. Specifically, we asked: How efficiently do these organisms ingest and eliminate microplastics, and to what extent are the particles transferred across trophic levels? We exposed B. caudatus to three concentrations of 1 µm fluorescent polystyrene microspheres (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 µg ml-1) for 24 h, then fed this contaminated prey to A. brightwellii predators. Using fluorescence microscopy, we tracked the fate of the microplastics over 48 h in both species. Both rotifers readily consumed the microspheres, and they also eliminated them efficiently. Fluorescence intensity declined rapidly in both prey and predator, with minimal retention after 24-48 h. While predators initially accumulated more than twice the fluorescence of their prey (confirming trophic transfer), this accumulation was short-lived. The rapid clearance suggests that in this simple food chain, 1 µm polystyrene microspheres do not biomagnify. Our findings reveal that these microplastics behave more like transient contaminants than persistent pollutants in rotifer communities, offering new insights into how microplastics flow through freshwater food webs at the microscopic scale.

PMID 42174262
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PubMedCarbohydrate polymers2026-05-23

Physical and biological synergistic strategies: injectable CNF/CMC hydrogels with cannabidiol@PCL microspheres for durable facial filling.

Wang Hongyu H, Chen Guiru G, Song Ran R, Wang Fei F et al.

The growing demand for multifunctional facial fillers underscores the limitations of current materials, which often lack sufficient mechanical strength for effective filling and fail to address oxidative stress, a key factor in skin aging. To overcome these challenges, a synergistic strategy combining biological antioxidation and physical reinforcement was developed. Initially, uniform cannabidiol (CBD)-loaded polycaprolactone (PCL) microspheres (CP) were fabricated via microfluidic technology, then incorporated into a carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/cellulose nanofiber (CNF) gel matrix, forming an injectable composite hydrogel (CMC/CNF/CP) with enhanced mechanical properties and antioxidant capabilities. According to the results, incorporating a small amount of CNF (1.5 wt%) into CMC facilitated the formation of a synergistic hydrogen bonding network and physical entanglements, significantly enhancing mechanical properties (3.7-fold). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging assays demonstrated that the hydrogel has notable antioxidant activity. Additionally, the hydrogel displayed excellent biocompatibility. Subcutaneous injection in rats revealed that the CMC/CNF/CP hydrogel exhibited a durable volumizing effect as well as a strong collagen synthesis capacity. In summary, we prepared the CMC/CNF/CP hydrogel with superior mechanical properties and sustained antioxidant properties through physical and biological synergistic strategies, offering a promising approach for the next generation of facial fillers.

PMID 42173581
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