Mucus-penetrating nanoparticles made with “mucoadhesive” poly(vinyl alcohol)

Most nanoparticles are immobilized in mucus due to adhesive interactions with the mucus mesh. Contrary to the established opinion that poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is a mucoadhesive polymer, we have demonstrated that physically coating otherwise mucoadhesive nanoparticles with certain grades of partially hydrolyzed PVA aids particle mobility in mucus. In this manuscript, we describe approaches that can be utilized to produce mucus-penetrating nanoparticles in the presence of PVA and provide supporting particle tracking data in human mucus ex vivo.168