Optimisation of a High-Throughput Model for Mucus Permeation and Nanoparticle Discrimination Using Biosimilar Mucus

High-throughput permeation models are essential in drug development for timely screening of new drug and formulation candidates. Nevertheless, many current permeability assays fail to account for the presence of the gastrointestinal mucus layer. In this study, an optimised high-throughput mucus permeation model was developed employing a highly biorelevant mucus mimic. While mucus permeation is primarily conducted in a simple mucin solution, the complex chemistry, nanostructure and rheology of mucus is more accurately modelled by a synthetic biosimilar mucus (BSM) employing additional protein, lipid and rheology-modifying polymer components. Utilising BSM, equivalent permeation of various molecular weight fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextrans were observed, compared with native porcine jejunal mucus, confirming replication of the natural mucus permeation barrier. Furthermore, utilising synthetic BSM facilitated the analysis of free protein permeation which could not be quantified in native mucus due to concurrent proteolytic degradation. Additionally, BSM could differentiate between the permeation of poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid nanoparticles (PLGA-NP) with varying surface chemistries (cationic, anionic and PEGylated), PEG coating density and size, which could not be achieved by a 5% mucin solution. This work confirms the importance of utilising highly biorelevant mucus mimics in permeation studies, and further development will provide an optimal method for high-throughput mucus permeation analysis.