Optimal design for studying mucoadhesive polymers interaction with gastric mucin using a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D): Comparison of two different mucin origins

The objective of this present study was to develop an efficient and simple method, based on the use of a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D), to evaluate the mucoadhesive characteristics of cationic polymers; chitosan, thiolated chitosan (chitosan-SH), and polyallylamine hydrochloride (PAH), and anionic polymers; hyaluronic acid (HA) and thiolated hyaluronic acid (HA-SH). The experiments were carried out at pH 4 to assess the interaction between mucoadhesive polymers and a mucin-coated gold surface. A key point in the QCM-D protocol development was to evaluate two sources of mucin: native porcine gastric mucin (NPGM) and commercially available porcine gastric mucin (CPGM). QCM-D has shown its potential as a highly sensitive technique that provides information about the interaction of mucoadhesive polymers with gastric mucin. The technique would allow the classification of these polymers in order to further assess their application as base materials for nanocarriers, designed to interact with the mucosal barrier which represents a stumbling block for drug adsorption.