Mucoadhesion of polymer-coated liposomes to rat intestine in vitro

Multilamellar liposomes consisting of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and dicetyl phosphate (DCP) in a molar ratio of 8:2 (DPPC:DCP = 8:2) were coated with three different types of polymers: chitosan, polyvinyl alcohol having a long alkyl chain, and poly(acrylic acid) bearing cholesterols. The existence of polymer layers on the liposome surface was confirmed by measuring the zeta potential of the liposomal particles. The mucoadhesive function of the polymer-coated liposomes was evaluated in vitro using rat intestine. A particle counting method using the Coulter counter was adopted to evaluate the adhesive % of liposomes. Chitosan coated liposomes showed the highest adhesive % among the polymer-coated liposomes tested. No adhesive % was observed for the non-coated liposomes. The adhesion of chitosan-coated liposomes to the intestine wall was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy using pyrene loaded liposomes.