The transnasal route for the delivery of water-soluble macromolecules, such as bioactive peptides and proteins, has attracted interest, although the use of permeation enhancers is required due to the poor permeabilities of these macromolecules across the nasal mucosa. With polycationic compounds, such as poly-L-arginine and chitosan, the nasal absorption of hydrophilic macromolecules is molecular weight- and concentration-dependently enhanced without causing cytotoxicity. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of various molecular weights and concentrations of poly-L-ornithine (PLO), a polycationic compound, on the nasal absorption and the damage to the nasal mucosa in vivo. PLO enhanced the nasal absorption of fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (FD-4), used as a model drug, and the bioavailability of FD-4 increased with the concentration of PLO. The enhancement effect was also dependent on the molecular weight. The administration of PLO at a concentration that sufficed for enhancing the nasal absorption had no effect on the activity of lactic dehydrogenase and the protein leakage in the nasal fluid, as indices of nasal mucosa damage. These findings suggest that a transnasal delivery system using PLO is a useful strategy for improving the nasal absorption of water-soluble macromolecules without toxicity to the nasal mucosa.
Keywords: enhancement effect; molecular weight; nasal absorption; poly-L-ornithine (PLO).