Drug permeability and mucoadhesion properties of thiolated trimethyl chitosan nanoparticles in oral insulin delivery.

Trimethyl chitosan-cysteine conjugate (TMC-Cys) was synthesized in an attempt to combine the mucoadhesion and the permeation enhancing effects of TMC and thiolated polymers related to different mechanisms for oral absorption. TMC-Cys with various molecular weights (30, 200, and 500 kDa) and quaternization degrees (15 and 30%) was allowed to form polyelectrolyte nanoparticles with insulin through self-assembly, which demonstrated particle size of 100-200 nm, zeta potential of +12 to +18 mV, and high encapsulation efficiency. TMC-Cys/insulin nanoparticles (TMC-Cys NP) showed a 2.1-4.7-fold increase in mucoadhesion compared to TMC/insulin nanoparticles (TMC NP), which might be partly attributed to disulfide formation between TMC-Cys and mucin as evidenced by DSC measurement. Compared to insulin solution and TMC NP, TMC-Cys NP induced increased insulin transport through rat intestine by 3.3-11.7 and 1.7-2.6 folds, promoted Caco-2 cell internalization by 7.5-12.7 and 1.7-3.0 folds, and augmented uptake in Peyer's patches by 14.7-20.9 and 1.7-5.0 folds, respectively. Such results were further confirmed by in vivo experiment with the optimal TMC-Cys NP. Biocompatibility assessment revealed lack of toxicity of TMC-Cys NP. Therefore, self-assembled nanoparticles between TMC-Cys and protein drugs could be an effective and safe oral delivery system.