Ionic-Liquid-Modified Nanoparticles as Potential Mucus Modulators for Nasal Drug Delivery

Mucosal barriers are a natural defense system for preventing the entry of foreign objects into the body; however, they pose obstacles for effective drug delivery. Coated polymer nanoparticles (NPs) have been shown to possess improved rates of diffusion across mucus compared to their uncoated, or bare, counterparts. Choline carboxylic acid-based ionic liquids (ILs) are highly tunable and show high biocompatibility and mucus modulation properties, making them an ideal choice for the improvement of NP diffusion through mucosal barriers. This study aimed to investigate whether the use of choline-based ILs has a positive effect on the dispersibility of poly­(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), poly­(ethylene glycol) methyl ether-block-poly­(lactide-co-glycolide) (PEG–PLGA), and poly­(ethylene glycol)–poly­(lactic acid) (PEG–PLA) NPs through nasal mucus by using a multiple particle tracking method. The samples, according to the IL used, showed altered rates of diffusion in both aqueous and mucosal environments. The use of CA2HE 1:1 with PEG–PLGA NPs slowed NP diffusion, while the use of the same IL increased diffusion for PEG–PLA. Additionally, UV–vis spectroscopy was used to identify the possible formation of complexes between the mucin polymer and NPs. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy was used to analyze any potential changes in the secondary structure of mucin as a result of the introduction of polymeric NPs. It was demonstrated that the use of an IL can stabilize the interactions between polymer NPs and mucin polymers. Isothermal titration calorimetry was used to obtain quantitative measurement of the binding energies between NPs and mucus and serves to confirm the results obtained from CD spectroscopy. Last, an ex vivo porcine nasal mucosa model was used to explore their use in a nasal delivery context, disclosing a possible connection between the use of zwitterionic transport materials and more effective drug delivery. This research demonstrates the potential of choline carboxylic acid-based ILs to control the transport behavior of polymer NPs for intranasal drug delivery.