Bacterioboat—A novel tool to increase the half-life period of the orally administered drug

Abstract

The short half-life in the GI tract necessitates an excess of drugs causing side effects of oral formulations. Here, we report the development and deployment of Bacterioboat, which consists of surface-encapsulated mesoporous nanoparticles on metabolically active Lactobacillus reuteri as a drug carrier suitable for oral administration. Bacterioboat showed up to 16% drug loading of its dry weight, intestinal anchorage around alveoli regions, sustained release, and stability in physiological conditions up to 24 hours. In vivo studies showed that oral delivery of 5-fluorouracil leads to increased potency, resulting in improved shrinkage of solid tumors, enhanced life expectancy, and reduced side effects. This novel design and development make this system ideal for orally administrable drugs with low solubility or permeability or both and even making them effective at a lower dose.