Posted by The oral route remains one of the most popular and important routes of administration for drugs—one that warrants the development of advanced drug delivery systems, such as polymeric nanoparticles capable of enhancing the absorption and bioavailability of the used drugs. In this work, a systematic review of published works on several databases, followed by a meta-analysis, were utilized in order to navigate the published studies and access literature-based evidence about the capability of polymeric nanoparticulate systems to augment the absorption and bioavailability of orally administered drugs. The pharmacokinetic parameter of the area under the curve (AUC) was utilized as the “effect” of this meta-analytical study. The meta-analysis demonstrated a significant increase in AUC compared to conventional formulations. Furthermore, comparing the synthetic polymeric nanoparticles, versus their naturally-based administered counterparts, as subgroups of the meta-analysis, revealed no significant differences.
The polymeric nanoparticulate drug delivery systems are usually absorbed by the gastrointestinal mucosal cells via different transport mechanisms. These include their non-specific intake and their uptake by the enterocytes and the M cells via transcytosis. M cells are specialized epithelial cells of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues. They possess a high transcytotic capacity, wherein the uptake of nanoparticles has been proven to occur through adsorptive endocytosis by mediated clathrin-coated pits and vesicles, fluid-phase endocytosis, and phagocytosis. The interaction of the polymers with mucin, thereby increasing the residence and the contact time of the nanoparticles for absorption.
Hathout, R.M. Do Polymeric Nanoparticles Really Enhance the Bioavailability of Oral Drugs? A Quantitative Answer Using Meta-Analysis. Gels 2022, 8, 119. https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8020119