Polymeric nanoparticle drug delivery technologies for oral delivery applications

Abstract

Introduction: Many therapeutics are limited to parenteral administration. Oral administration is a desirable alternative because of the convenience and increased compliance by patients, especially for chronic diseases that require frequent administration. Polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) are one technology being developed to enable clinically feasible oral delivery.

Areas covered: This review discusses the challenges associated with oral delivery. Strategies used to overcome gastrointestinal (GI) barriers using polymeric NPs will be considered, including mucoadhesive biomaterials and targeting of NPs to transcytosis pathways associated with M cells and enterocytes. Applications of oral delivery technologies will also be discussed, such as oral chemotherapies, oral insulin, treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, and mucosal vaccinations.

Expert opinion: There have been many approaches used to overcome the transport barriers presented by the GI tract, but most have been limited by low bioavailability. Recent strategies targeting NPs to transcytosis pathways present in the intestines have demonstrated that it is feasible to efficiently transport both therapeutics and NPs across the intestines and into systemic circulation after oral administration. Further understanding of the physiology and pathophysiology of the intestines could lead to additional improvements in oral polymeric NP technologies and enable the translation of these technologies to clinical practice.

Keywords:

• chemotherapy
• inflammatory bowel disease
• insulin
• M cells
• mucoadhesives
• mucosal vaccinations
• oral delivery
• polymeric nanoparticles
• transcytosis

Declaration of interest

The authors were supported by Prostate Cancer Foundation and David Koch, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Health. Eric Pridgen, Omid Farokhzad and Frank Alexis are inventors on the patent application related to neonatal Fc receptor technology, Omid Farokhzad discloses a financial interest in BIND therapeutics, Selecta Biosciences and Blend Therapeutics, and supported in part by a Koch-Prostate Cancer Foundation Award in Nanotherapeutics the National Cancer Institute Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence at MIT-Harvard (U54-CA151884), and a National Institutes of Health grant (R01 EB015419-01). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Notes

This box summarizes key points contained in the article.