Experimental and computational models to investigate intestinal drug permeability and metabolism

Abstract

1. Oral administration is the preferred route for drug administration that leads to better therapy compliance. The intestine plays a key role in the absorption and metabolism of oral drugs, therefore, new intestinal models are being continuously proposed, which contribute to the study of intestinal physiology, drug screening, drug side effects, and drug–drug interactions.

2. Advances in pharmaceutical processes have produced more drug formulations, causing challenges for intestinal models. To adapt to the rapid evolution of pharmaceuticals, more intestinal models have been created. However, because of the complexity of the intestine, few models can take all aspects of the intestine into account, and some functions must be sacrificed to investigate other areas. Therefore, investigators need to choose appropriate models according to the experimental stage and other requirements to obtain the desired results.

3. To help researchers achieve this goal, this review summarised the advantages and disadvantages of current commonly used intestinal models and discusses possible future directions, providing a better understanding of intestinal models.

Keywords:

• Intestinal model
• organoids
• intestine-on-a-chip
• separated flow model
• cryopreserved intestinal mucosa
• TNO gastro-intestinal model

Author contributions

Design, J. C. and Z.Y; manuscript writing, J.C, Z.Y, Y.T, and W.H; review and editing, C.X and L.Y. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no declaration of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant 82204499, 82074110, 81873080), the Open Project of State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines (grant SKLNMKF202209), Funding by Science and Technology Projects in Guangzhou (grant 202201011117) and Pharmacy Project of Guangdong Province Hospital Association (grant 2021YXQN01).