Use of everted intestinal rings for in vitro examination of oral absorption potential

The ability to predict in vivo oral absorption potential based on ex vivo screening in an everted intestinal ring model was examined. In vitro drug accumulation in cross sectional rings of everted rat jejunum was determined with 12 compounds whose in vivo absorptions (as distinct from bioavailabilities) are well characterized. The compounds examined ranged from well- to poorly-absorbed and included compounds absorbed by active and passive mechanisms. The effects of drug concentration, pH, cosolvents, and tissue origin site on drug accumulation were determined. Light microscopic observation indicated that the mucosal tissue remained intact up to 3 h after the intestine was excised. Accumulations of two nonabsorbable markers were also determined as measures of tissue integrity. A strong correlation (slope = 23 pmol/mg of tissue weight per percent oral absorption, r2 = 0.9430 by linear regression analysis) of in vitro uptake into everted rings from a 10 mM drug solution versus the known in vivo bioavailability for each compound was observed. These results indicated that under appropriate conditions, in vitro uptake of drug by the everted intestinal ring model closely paralleled known in vivo bioavailability and was relatively independent of pH, cosolvent, and tissue origin.