Targeted nanocarriers have shown great promise in drug delivery because of optimized drug behavior and improved therapeutic efficacy. How to improve the targeting efficiency of nanocarriers for the maximum possible drug delivery is a critical issue. Here we developed L-carnitine-conjugated nanoparticles targeting the carnitine transporter OCTN2 on enterocytes for improved oral absorption. As a variable, we introduced various lengths of the polyethylene glycol linker (0, 500, 1000, and 2000) between the nanoparticle surface and the ligand (CNP, C5NP, C10NP and C20NP) to improve the ligand flexibility, and consequently for more efficient interaction with the transporter, to enhance the oral delivery of the cargo load into cells. An increased absorption was observed in cellular uptake in vitro and in intestinal perfusion assay in situ when the polyethylene glycol was introduced to link L-carnitine to the nanoparticles; the highest absorption was achieved with C10NP. In contrast, the linker decreased the absorption efficiency in vivo. As the presence or absence of the mucus layer was the primary difference between in vitro/in situ versus in vivo, the presence of this layer was the likely reason for this differential effect. In summary, the size of the polyethylene glycol linker improved the absorption in vitro and in situ, but interfered with the absorption in vivo. Even though this strategy of increasing the ligand flexibility with the variable size of the polyethylene glycol failed to increase oral absorption in vivo, this approach is likely to be useful for enhanced cellular uptake following intravenous administration of the nanocarriers.
Keywords: Nanoparticles; OCTN2; ligand flexibility; oral absorption; targeting efficiency.