Evaluation of mucoadhesive coatings of chitosan and thiolated chitosan for the colonic delivery of microencapsulated probiotic bacteria

Probiotic bacteria were previously encapsulated in sub-100 µm Ca2+ alginate microcapsules for enhanced survival in human gastrointestinal tract. The aim of this study is to evaluate the altered mucoadhesive property of the probiotic delivery system by coating it with mucoadhesive chitosan or thiolated chitosan, for prolonged retention in human colon. The results confirmed that cross-linking with calcium ions reduced the mucoadhesive property of alginate hydrogel, thus questioning the intrinsic mucoadhesiveness of uncoated systems. In contrast, chitosan and thiolated chitosan were found to be adsorbed on sub-100 µm Ca2+ alginate microcapsules, and substantially improved the mucoadhesion performance of the system. The adhesion performance was correlated to the amount of mucoadhesive coating polymer adsorbed on the surface of the system. The coated system was demonstrated on HT29-MTX colonic epithelial monolayer to deliver markedly higher amount of probiotic bacteria to the in vitro model of colonic mucosa. Additionally, the coatings were also found to exert significantly stronger mucoadhesion to colonic mucosa tissue at slight acid neutral pH with less ambient water, which conforms to the physiological environment of the colon, thus supporting prolonged retention in this region.