Estradiol (medication)
Estradiol is available in a variety of different formulations, including oral, intranasal, transdermal/topical, vaginal, injectable, and implantable preparations. An ester may be attached to one or both of the hydroxyl groups of estradiol to improve its oral bioavailability and/or duration of action with injection. Such modifications give rise to forms such as estradiol acetate (oral and vaginal), estradiol valerate (oral and injectable), estradiol cypionate (injectable), estradiol benzoate (injectable), estradiol undecylate (injectable), and polyestradiol phosphate (injectable; a polymerized ester of estradiol), which are all prodrugs of estradiol.
Estradiol phosphate
Estradiol phosphate, or estradiol 17β-phosphate, also known as estra-1,3,5(10)-triene-3,17β-diol 17β-(dihydrogen phosphate), is an estrogen which was never marketed. It is an estrogen ester, specifically an ester of estradiol with phosphoric acid, and acts as a prodrug of estradiol in the body. It is rapidly cleaved by phosphatase enzymes into estradiol upon administration. Estradiol phosphate is contained within the chemical structures of two other estradiol esters, polyestradiol phosphate (a polymer of estradiol phosphate) and estramustine phosphate (estradiol 3-normustine 17β-phosphate), both of which have been marketed for the treatment of prostate cancer.