Enteric-coated capsules filled with mono-disperse micro-particles containing PLGA-lipid-PEG nanoparticles for oral delivery of insulin.

The success of the oral delivery of insulin (INS) as a therapeutic protein drug would significantly improve the quality of life of diabetic patients who would otherwise receive multiple daily INS injections. The oral delivery of INS, however, is still limited in its delivery efficiency, which could be due to the chemical, enzymatic, and adsorption barriers. In this work, in an attempt to improve the delivery efficiency, the INS-loaded polymer-lipid hybrid nanoparticles (INS-PLGA-lipid-PEG NPs) were designed and constructed through a double-emulsion solvent evaporation technique, followed by formulation of the spherical micro-particles using a spray freeze dryer (SFD). This kind of dryers has a uniquely designed microfluidic aerosol nozzle (MFAN), ensuring the formation of uniform particles. The resulted particles of ∼212 μm could easily be reverted to discrete INS-PLGA-lipid-PEG NPs in an aqueous solution. The INS-PLGA-lipid-PEG NPs created in this work showed a highly negative surface charge, excellent entrapment efficiency (92.3%) and a sustained drug release (∼24 h). Confocal laser scanning microscopy and flow cytometer were used to show that the cellular uptake efficiency for the INS-PLGA-lipid-PEG NPs was more effective than the INS in Caco-2 cells. More importantly, the in vivo pharmacodynamics demonstrated that the orally delivered system induced a prolonged decrease in blood glucose levels among diabetic rats. The relative bioavailability of INS compared with subcutaneous injection in diabetic rats was found to be approximately 12%. These results suggested that the encapsulated INS-PLGA-lipid-PEG NPs are promising and should be investigated further in the near future as an effective INS oral delivery system.