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Methocel-Lipid Hybrid Nanocarrier for Efficient Oral Insulin Delivery

Research Authors
Mariam Boushra, Sozan Tous, Gihan Fetih, Hui-Yi Xue, Ngoc T. Tran, Ho Lun Wong
Research Department
Research Journal
Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Doi:10.1016/j.xphs.2016.02.018
Research Publisher
NULL
Research Rank
1
Research Vol
Vol. 105, No. 5
Research Website
NULL
Research Year
2016
Research Member
Research Abstract

Even with the use of double-emulsion technique for preparation, the hydrophobic nature of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) limits their encapsulation efficiency (EE%) for peptides such as insulin. In this study, we hypothesize that inclusion of Methocel into SLN to form Methocel-lipid hybrid nanocarriers (MLNs) will significantly enhance insulin EE% without compromising the various characteristics of SLN favorable for oral drug delivery. Our data show that incorporation of 2% wt/wt of Methocel A15C had doubled insulin EE% (around 40%) versus conventional SLN prepared using standard double emulsion technique. MLN significantly protected the entrapped insulin against chymotrypsin degradation at gastrointestinal pH. Using intestinal epithelial cells Caco2 as a model, it was shown that MLN could be extensively taken up by Caco2 cells while demonstrating low cytotoxicity. The results indicate that MLN have preserved the key advantages of SLN (biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity, good drug protection, and good interaction with cells) while overcoming their key limitation for efficient peptide entrapment. Based on this, MLN may serve as a promising nanocarrier for oral delivery of peptides.