Enhanced oral uptake of tomato lectin-conjugated nanoparticles in the rat

Purpose. To investigate the usefulness of a surface-conjugated, bioadhesive molecule, tomato lectin, to augment intestinal uptake of orally administered inert nanoparticles. Methods. Fluorescent 500 nm polystyrene nanoparticles with tomato lectin covalently surface coupled using a carbodiimide reaction were administered to female Wistar rats by oral gavage daily for 5 days. Results. Analysis of tissue extracted polymer by gel permeation chromatography revealed a 23% systemic uptake of tomato lectin conjugated nanoparticles compared to < 0.5% of TL nanoparticles blocked with N-acetylchitotetraose thus representing an increase of almost 50 fold across the intestine. intestinal uptake of tomato lectin-conjugated nanoparticles via the villous tissue was 15 times higher than uptake by the gut-associated lymphoid tissue. Conclusions. The application of tomato lectin as a bioadhesive agent in vivo has been demonstrated to enhance subsequent intestinal transcytosis of colloidal particulates to which it is bound.