Swelling of mucoadhesive electrospun chitosan/polyethylene oxide nanofibers facilitates adhesion to the sublingual mucosa

Mai Bay Stie, Johan Ring Gätke, Feng Wan, Ioannis S. Chronakis, Jette Jacobsen, Hanne Mørck Nielsen

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

43 Citations (Scopus)
41 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Mucoadhesive chitosan-based electrospun nanofibers are promising candidates for overcoming challenges associated with sublingual drug delivery, yet studies focusing on evaluating the mucoadhesive properties of nanofibers for sublingual administration are limited. The aim was to elucidate the mucoadhesive properties of chitosan/polyethylene oxide (PEO) nanofibers focusing on how the degree of deacetylation (DDA, 53–96 %) of chitosan influenced their morphological and mucoadhesive properties. The mechanism of mucoadhesion was explained by the intermolecular interactions of chitosan with mucin from bovine submaxillary glands using quartz-crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring and by adhesion of the nanofibers to ex vivo porcine sublingual mucosa. An increase in chitosan DDA improved the morphological stability of the nanofibers in water, but did not contribute to altered mucoadhesive properties. This study demonstrates excellent mucoadhesive properties of chitosan/PEO nanofibers and shows that the strong mucoadhesiveness of the nanofibers is attributed to their swelling ability.
Original languageEnglish
Article number116428
JournalCarbohydrate Polymers
Volume242
Number of pages10
ISSN0144-8617
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Aug 2020

Keywords

  • Chitosan
  • Electrospun nanofibers
  • Mucoadhesion
  • Sublingual drug delivery

Cite this