Hydroxyapatite-based nano-drug delivery system for nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN): significantly enhancing NMN bioavailability and replenishing in vivo nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) levels.

OBJECTIVES

This study addresses the bioavailability challenges associated with oral nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) administration by introducing an innovative NMN formulation incorporated with hydroxyapatite (NMN-HAP).

METHODS

The NMN-HAP was developed using a wet chemical precipitation and physical adsorption method. To assess its superiority over conventional free NMN, we examined NMN, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), and nicotinamide riboside (NR) levels in mouse plasma and tissues following oral administration of NMN-HAP.

KEY FINDINGS

NMN-HAP nanoparticles demonstrated a rod-shaped morphology, with an average size of ~50 nm, along with encapsulation efficiency and drug loading capacity exceeding 40%. In vitro, drug release results indicated that NMN-HAP exhibited significantly lower release compared with free NMN. In vivo studies showed that NMN-HAP extended circulation time, improved bioavailability compared with free NMN, and elevated plasma levels of NMN, NAD+, and NR. Moreover, NMN-HAP administration displayed tissue-specific distribution with a substantial accumulation of NMN, NAD+, and NR in the brain and liver.

CONCLUSION

NMN-HAP represents an ideal formulation for enhancing NMN bioavailability, enabling tissue-specific delivery, and ultimately elevating in vivo NAD+ levels. Considering HAP's biocompatible nature and versatile characteristics, we anticipate that this system has significant potential for various future applications.