Enantioselective Oral Absorption of Molecular Chiral Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles

Abstract

Inspired by the unique pharmacological effects of chiral drugs in the asymmetrical body environments, we assumed the chirality of nanocarriers was also a key factor to determine their oral adsorption efficiency, apart from their size, shape, etc. Herein, we fabricated L/D‐tartaric acid modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles (L/D‐CMSNs) via a one‐pot co‐condensation method, and focused on whether the oral adsorption of nanocarriers would be benefited from their chirality. We found that L‐CMSN performed better in the sequential oral absorption processes, including mucus permeation, mucosa bio‐adhesion, cellular uptake, intestinal transport and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) retention, than those of the D‐chiral (D‐CMSN), racemic (DL‐CMSN), and achiral (MSN) counterparts. We experimentally and theoretically demonstrated the multiple chiral recognition mechanisms following simple differential adsorption on bio‐interfaces, wherein electrostatic interaction was the dominant energy. During the oral delivery task, L‐CMSN, which was proven to be stable, nonirritative, biocompatible and biodegradable, was efficiently absorbed into the blood (1.72–2.05‐fold higher than other nanocarriers), and helped the loaded doxorubicin (DOX) to achieve better intestinal transport (2.32–27.03‐times higher than other samples), satisfactory bioavailability (449.73%) and stronger anti‐tumor effect (up to 95.43%). These findings validated the dominant role of chirality in determining the biological fate of nanocarriers.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved