Surfactant-induced alterations of permeability of rabbit oral mucosa in vitro

The permeability of rabbit oral mucosa to eight nonelectrolytes was measured in vitro in the absence and in the presence of 0.025, 0.1, and 1.0% concentrations of anionic, cationic, and nonionic surfactants. The anionic surfactant sodium lauryl sulfate and the cationic surfactants cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and cetylpyridinium chloride caused greater increases in permeability than polysorbate 80, a nonionic surfactant. The increases in permeability brought about by the surfactants were concentration dependent.