Interactions between Nanoparticles and Intestine

Abstract

The use of nanoparticles (NPs) has surely grown in recent years due to their versatility, with a spectrum of applications that range from nanomedicine to the food industry. Recent research focuses on the development of NPs for the oral administration route rather than the intravenous one, placing the interactions between NPs and the intestine at the centre of the attention. This allows the NPs functionalization to exploit the different characteristics of the digestive tract, such as the different pH, the intestinal mucus layer, or the intestinal absorption capacity. On the other hand, these same characteristics can represent a problem for their complexity, also considering the potential interactions with the food matrix or the microbiota. This review intends to give a comprehensive look into three main branches of NPs delivery through the oral route: the functionalization of NPs drug carriers for systemic targets, with the case of insulin carriers as an example; NPs for the delivery of drugs locally active in the intestine, for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases and colon cancer; finally, the potential concerns and side effects of the accidental and uncontrolled exposure to NPs employed as food additives, with focus on E171 (titanium dioxide) and E174 (silver NPs).

Mechanisms of Nanoparticle Transport across Intestinal Tissue: An Oral Delivery Perspective

“…43 In addition to their use as drug carriers, some metallic nanoparticles have also shown potent antimicrobial properties (e.g., silver nanoparticles) and immunogenicity, which can be explored further for therapeutic applications. 44 Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanosized vesicles that are naturally released from cells. EVs are responsible for facilitating intercellular communication by transporting different macromolecules such as miRNA and proteins throughout the body.…”

“…The human GI tract consists of mucus, a variety of epithelial cells, immune cells, and blood and lymphatic vasculature, all with specialized functions. 3 Additionally, unlike systemic administration, oral drug delivery exposes therapeutics to first-pass hepatic metabolism that can significantly reduce the drug bioavailability prior to reaching systemic circulation. The development of drug delivery methods based on nanomaterials has made it possible to overcome some of these barriers, for example, by shielding drugs from digestion in the harsh intestinal environment.…”

“…While oral delivery is highly preferential from a patient’s perspective, numerous challenges to transport drugs from the intestine to systemic circulation exist. The human GI tract consists of mucus, a variety of epithelial cells, immune cells, and blood and lymphatic vasculature, all with specialized functions . Additionally, unlike systemic administration, oral drug delivery exposes therapeutics to first-pass hepatic metabolism that can significantly reduce the drug bioavailability prior to reaching systemic circulation.…”

Transcriptomic Profiling the Effects of Airway Exposure of Zinc Oxide and Silver Nanoparticles in Mouse Lungs

“…A previous review has summarized the toxicity mechanism of nanoparticles, including oxidative stress, inflammatory response, and DNA damage in systemic (animal) and cellular studies [ 25 ]. We and others have also found that ENMs may induce versatile immune responses in the process of antigen recognition and uptake, as well as in the developed innate and adaptive immune responses in the gut [ 26 , 27 ] and skin [ 28 , 29 ]. In the present study, we explored whether similar biological effects and mechanisms are developed after exposure to nZnO and nAg in the airways.…”

Nanoparticles for oral delivery: targeted therapy for inflammatory bowel disease

“…117–119 Moreover, unlike polymeric or lipid NPs, metallic NPs tend to have great stability under interstitial fluid pressure. 120,121 In addition, metallic NPs present a high surface-to-volume rate, which can be easily modified and efficiently loaded with drug agents. 122,123 Therefore, metallic NPs are currently utilized in various fields including diagnostic, therapeutic, and drug delivery potential.…”