Nanomedicine requires the nanoparticles that are administered to be properly absorbed by the body. Given orally via a pill, nanoparticles mostly end up being metabolized and/or excreted by the gastrointestinal system. Researchers at the University of Utah have now come up with a way of making nanoparticles much easier to uptake by the body through the GI system.
The research team attached glycocholic acid to the nanoparticles. Glycocholic acid is a biliary acid that works to transfer fat from the small intestine into the blood stream.
The acid molecule works similarly with nanoparticles, pulling them across the lining of the small intestine.
“Nanoparticles were not expected to be absorbed through the lymphatic system,” said Kyoung Sub Kim, Ph.D., a post-do that worked on the study. “Lymphocyte delivery of nanoparticles allows a wide range of medicines to be applied through this method.”
When the researchers compared how well pure nanoparticles and ones modified with acid are absorbed, they discovered that the acid-containing ones were taken in by lab animals seven times more readily. Only about seven percent of the naked nanoparticles appeared in the blood stream.
Study in ACS Nano: Oral Nanoparticles Exhibit Specific High-Efficiency Intestinal Uptake and Lymphatic Transport…
Via: University of Utah…