Many drugs have limited penetration through the gastrointestinal tract and therefore cannot be administered orally. The aim of this study was to develop charged liposaccharide absorption enhancers to improve oral bioavailability of model drug tobramycin. In vitro experiments, haemolysis, and cytotoxicity tests confirmed that the synthesized liposaccharides were non-toxic at the concentrations used for oral administration. The partitioning coefficient of tobramycin was improved to an acceptable range for oral delivery (log P = 1-3), when it was mixed with anionic liposaccharides at molar ratio of 1:7.

Charged liposaccharide, tobramycin, absorption enhancer, drug delivery.

University of Queensland, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia, 4072.