Self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) for oral delivery of protein drugs: II. In vitro transport study.

To develop a self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) for protein drugs, and particularly, to test the in vitro transport of beta-lactamase (BLM) by SNEDDS across the cell monolayer. Fluorescently labeled BLM (FITC-BLM), a model protein, formulated into 16 SNEDDS preparations through a solid dispersion technique were studied for transport across MDCK monolayer. All the SNEDDS nanoemulsions resulted in higher transport rate than the free solution. The transport rate by SNEDDS depends on the SNEDDS composition. SNEDDS NE-12-7 (oil: Lauroglycol FCC, surfactant: Cremophor EL and a cosurfactant: Transcutol HP) at the ratio of 5:4:3, rendered the highest transportation rate, 33% as compared to negligible transport by the free solution. FITC-BLM solution mixed with the surfactant and the cosurfactant of SNEDDS NE-12-7 or with blank SNEDDS NE-12-7 increased the transport only by 3.3 and 1.5 folds, respectively, compared to free solution alone. It was found that the monolayer integrity was not compromised in the presence of SNEDDS NE-12-7 or its surfactant/cosurfactant. The SNEDDS significantly increased the transport of FITC-BLM across MDCK monolayer in vitro. SNEDDS may be a potential effective delivery system for non-invasive protein drug delivery.