Improved mucoadhesive properties of self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) by introducing acyl chitosan

This study was aimed to improve the mucoadhesive properties of SNEDDS by the incorporation of acyl chitosan including octanoyl chitosan (OC), lauroyl chitosan (LC) and palmitoyl chitosan (PC). SNEDDS and acyl chitosan SNEDDS were characterized regarding droplet size and zeta potential. Their mucoadhesivity on porcine intestinal mucosa was evaluated by falling liquid film technique using Sudan Red G as marker. Degree of substitution of chitosan was determined to be 52.8%, 64.8 and 48.5% for OC, LC and PC, respectively. SNEDDS and acyl chitosan SNEDDS displayed a droplet size less than 50 nm and 80-300 nm as well as a zeta potential of −0.2 to −1.6 and 0.05 to 0.99 mV, respectively. Introducing 2% acyl chitosan into SNEDDS increased the residence time of SNEDDS on intestinal mucosa 2-fold. It is concluded that due to the incorporation of acyl chitosan into SNEDDS, their mucoadhesive properties can be increased.

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