DIFFERENTIAL-EFFECTS OF ANIONIC, CATIONIC, NONIONIC, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL SURFACTANTS ON THE DISSOCIATION, ALPHA-CHYMOTRYPTIC DEGRADATION, AND ENTERAL ABSORPTION OF INSULIN HEXAMERS

Various surfactants were investigated to compare their effects on insulin dissociation, alpha-chymotryptic degradation, and rat enteral absorption. With a circular dichroism technique, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at a 5 mM concentration was found to completely dissociate procine-zinc insulin hexamers (0.5 mg/ml) into monomers. The catalytic activity of alpha-chymotrypsin (0.5 muM) was also abolished by 5 mM SDS. When insulin was injected into the distal jejunum/proximal ileum segment of the rat, 5 mM SDS greatly enhanced its pharmacological availability, from a negligible value to 2.8%. Being a cationic surfactant, hexadecyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) also efficiently dissociated insulin hexamers at concentrations of 1-5 mM. However, extensive charge-charge interaction was observed below a CTAB concentration of 0.6 mM, leading to insulin precipitation at a molar CTAB:insulin ratio of 1:1 to 2:1. An alpha-chymotryptic degradation study also revealed near-complete dissociation of insulin hexamers at 1 mM CTAB. Above 1 mM, however, CTAB acted as an enzyme inhibitor, most likely by means of charge repulsion. Enteral absorption studies showed a much lower pharmacological availability, only 0.29%. Nonionic surfactants such as Tween 80 and polyoxyethylene 9 lauryl ether were ineffective in dissociating insulin hexamers. Tween 80, at 5 mM, neither significantly altered the alpha-chymotryptic degradation pattern nor enhanced the enteral absorption of insulin. The relative effectiveness of different species of bile salts on insulin hexamer dissociation appeared to be similar. Sodium glycocholate at a 30 mM concentration also significantly increased insulin pharmacological availability, to 2.3%. A morphological study did not reveal any significant alteration of the mt intestinal mucosal integrity after exposure to 5 mM SDS for 30 min. The results further emphasize the importance of the degree of insulin aggregation on its enteral transport.