Nanoparticles Stokes radius assessment through permeability coefficient determination within a new stratified...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Toxicology

Background:

• Tissue barrier permeability is vital for substance transport, impacting drug efficacy and safety.
• Accurate permeability assessment is crucial for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and toxicological applications.
• Microfluidic and organ-on-chip technologies offer advanced solutions for reliable permeability data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel stratified epithelia-on-chip model for analyzing tissue barrier diffusion.
• To establish a correlation between molecular/particle size (Stokes radius) and diffusion across an in vitro epithelial barrier.
• To create a system for predicting the Stokes radius of unknown particles, including nanoparticles.

Main Methods:

• Design and implementation of a new stratified epithelia-on-chip model.
• In vitro analysis of molecule and nanoformulation diffusion through the engineered epithelial barrier.
• Correlation of experimental diffusion data with particle Stokes radius.

Main Results:

• Successful establishment of a functional stratified epithelia-on-chip model.
• Demonstrated correlation between diffusion rates and particle Stokes radius.
• Validation of the model's ability to predict Stokes radius for fluorescently labeled particles, such as gold nanoparticles.

Conclusions:

• The developed epithelia-on-chip model provides a reliable method for assessing tissue barrier permeability.
• This model facilitates the prediction of particle size based on diffusion characteristics.
• The technology is valuable for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and toxicological research, particularly for nanoformulation characterization.