Solid lipid nanoparticles for oral drug delivery: chitosan coating improves stability, controlled delivery, mucoadhesion and cellular uptake.

The poor stability of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) under acidic condition resulted in large aggregation in gastric environment, limiting their application as oral delivery systems. In this study, a series of SLN was prepared to investigate the effects of surfactant/cosurfactant and chitosan coating on their physicochemical properties as well as cellular uptake. SLN was prepared from Compritol 888 ATO using a low-energy method combining the solvent-diffusion and hot homogenization technique. Poloxamer 188 and polyethylene glycol (PEG) were effective emulsifiers to produce SLN with better physicochemical properties than SLN control. Chitosan-coated SLN exhibited the best stability under acidic condition by forming a thick layer around the lipid core, as clearly observed by transmission electron microscope. The intermolecular interactions in different formulations were monitored by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Chitosan coating also significantly improved the mucoadhesive property of SLN as determined by Quartz Crystal Microbalance. In vitro drug delivery assays, cytotoxicity, and cellular uptake of SLN were studied by incorporating coumarin 6 as a fluorescence probe. Overall, chitosan-coated SLN was superior to other formulations and held promising features for its application as a potential oral drug delivery system for hydrophobic drugs.