Pectin based multi-particulate carriers for colon-specific delivery of therapeutic agents
In case of colon-specific delivery of therapeutic agents through oral route, microbial/enzyme-triggered release approach has several advantages over other approaches due to unique microbial ecosystem in the colon. Multiple-unit carriers have an edge over single-unit carriers for this purpose. Among different materials/polymers explored, pectin appears as a promising biopolymer to construct microbial-triggered colon-specific carriers. Pectin specifically degrades by colonic enzymes but insusceptible to upper gastro-intestinal enzymes.
Utilization of pectin solely or in combination with other polymers and/or colonic-delivery approaches is critically discussed in detail in the context of multi-particulate systems. Several studies showed that pectin-based carriers can prevent the release of payload in the stomach but start releasing in the intestine. Hence, pectin alone may construct delayed release formulation but may not be sufficient for effective colon-targeting. On the other hand, combination of pectin with other materials/polymers (e.g., chitosan, Eudragit® S-100) demonstrated huge promise for colon-specific release of payload.
Hence, smartly designed pectin-based multi-particulate carriers, especially in combination with other polymers and/or colon-targeting approaches (e.g., microbial-triggered + pH-triggered or microbial-triggered + pH-triggered + time-release or microbial-triggered + pH-triggered + pressure-based), can be successful colon-specific delivery systems. However, more clinical trials are necessary to bring this idea from bench to bedside.
Article information: Surajit Das. Pectin based multi-particulate carriers for colon-specific delivery of therapeutic agents,
International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2021.120814.