Ex Vivo Permeability Characteristics of Porcine Buccal Mucosa to Drugs with Various Polarity

The aim of this study was to analyze characteristics of the barrier function of excised porcine buccal mucosa to the test compounds, estradiol, propranolol HCI, melatonin, and mannitol with a wide range of partition coefficient values. The permeability of melatonin was measured through frozen, stored, and fresh porcine buccal mucosa to examine the impact of storage conditions on the permeability of porcine buccal mucosa. The results demonstrated that the ex vivo permeability of the porcine buccal mucosa was greater for more lipophilic solutes, which was consistent with a series of molecules transported by passive transepithelial diffusion. The melatonin permeation profiles through frozen, stored, and fresh mucosa illustrated that damage was incurred by the freezing process of the mucosal tissue, leading to loss of the barrier function and thereby an increased permeation coefficient. It can be observed that the influence of compound lipophilicity on the association of the compounds with buccal mucosa was clear. The relationship between permeation coefficient and Log P values for the four compounds investigated demonstrated a proportional relationship, further confirming the importance of the lipophilicity of a compound to permeate the buccal mucosa. These results showed that the ex vivo porcine buccal mucosa model is a suitable tool to screen oral mucosal permeability.