Efficient mucus permeation and tight junction opening by dissociable “mucus-inert” agent coated trimethyl chitosan nanoparticles for oral insulin delivery

Oral administration of protein drugs is greatly impeded by the lack of drug carriers that can efficiently overcome the absorption barriers of mucosa tissue, which consists of not only epithelium but also a blanket of mucus gel. We herein report a novel self-assembled nanoparticle (NP) platform for oral delivery of insulin by facilitating the efficient permeation through both of these two barriers. The NP possesses a core composed of insulin and...