Feasibility Investigation of Cellulose Polymers for
Mucoadhesive Nasal Drug Delivery Applications
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Abstract
The
feasibility of various cellulose polymer derivatives, including
methylcellulose (MC), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), sodium-carboxymethylcellulose
(sodium-CMC), and cationic-hydroxyethylcellulose (cationic-HEC), for
use as an excipient to enhance drug delivery in nasal spray formulations
was investigated. Three main parameters for evaluating the polymers
in nasal drug delivery applications include rheology, ciliary beat
frequency (CBF), and permeation across nasal tissue. Reversible thermally
induced viscosity enhancement was observed at near nasal physiological
temperature when cellulose derivatives were combined with an additional
excipient, poly(vinyl caprolactam)–poly(vinyl acetate)–poly(ethylene
glycol) graft copolymer (PVCL–PVA–PEG). Cationic-HEC
was shown to enhance acyclovir permeation across the nasal mucosa.
None of the tested cellulosic polymers caused any adverse effects
on porcine nasal tissues and cells, as assessed by alterations in
CBF. Upon an increase in polymer concentration, a reduction in CBF
was observed when ciliated cells were immersed in the polymer solution,
and this decrease returned to baseline when the polymer was removed.
While each cellulose derivative exhibited unique advantages for nasal
drug delivery applications, none stood out on their own to improve
more than one of the performance characteristics examined. Hence,
these data may be useful for the development of new cellulose derivatives
in nasal drug formulations