Drug Delivery and Translational Research - Featured Article: April 2023
Read the featured article from the April 2023 issue! (this opens in a new tab)
The analysis of gastrointestinal cellular permeation in pre-clinical drug development is widely conducted, however the permeation of the overlying mucus layer is often overlooked. This is attributed to a lack of understanding of the complexity of this layer, coupled with minimal availability of experimental tools to quantify permeation through the turbid, viscous solution. Here, a novel microfluidic device facilitates the observation of interactions between physicochemically diverse nanocarriers and the mucin protein on a microscopic scale. This approach provides key information on mucin-binding which may be lost with traditional methods and allows the quantification of mucoadhesive as well as mucopermeating formulations. In addition, utilising a complex biomimetic solution of proteins, lipids and salts which accurately mimics the chemistry and rheology of native mucus within the device resulted in a 5.5-fold reduced permeation and 1.4-fold reduced diffusivity of PLGA nanoparticles, compared to a more prevalent, simple mucus mimic.