In vitro Nasal Cell Culture Systems for Drug Transport Studies

Abstract

Growing interest in the nasal route as a drug delivery system calls for a reliable in vitro model which is crucial for efficiently evaluating drug transport through the nasal cells. Various in vitro cell culture systems has thus been developed to displace the ex vivo excised nasal tissue and in vivo animal models. Due to species difference, results from animal studies are not sufficient for estimating the drug absorption kinetics in humans. However, the difficulty in obtaining reliable human tissue source limits the use of primary culture of human nasal epithelial cells. This shortage of human nasal tissue has therefore prompted studies on the passage culture of nasal epithelial cells. A serially passaged primary human nasal epithelial cell monolayer system developed by the air-liquid interface (ALI) culture is known to promote the differentiation of cilia and mucin gene and maintain high TEER values. Recent studies on the in vitro nasal cell culture systems for drug transport studies are reviewed in this article.