An In Vitro Model for Characterization of Drug Permeability across the Tympanic Membrane

Joachim G.S. Veit, Bhaskar Birru, Ruby Singh, Elizabeth M. Arrigali, Monica A. Serban

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Otic disorders, such as otitis media and hearing loss, affect a substantial portion of the global population. Despite this, oto-therapeutics, in particular those intended to treat hearing loss, have seen limited development and innovation. A significant factor to this is likely a result of the inherent costs and complexities of drug discovery and development. With in vitro 3D tissue models seeing increased utility for the rapid, high-throughput screening of drug candidates, it stands to reason that the field of otology could greatly benefit from such innovations. In this study, we propose and describe an in vitro 3D model, designed using a physiologically based approach, which we suggest can be used to estimate drug permeability across human tympanic membranes (TM). We characterize the permeability properties of several template drugs in this model under various growth and storage conditions. The availability of such cost-effective, rapid, high-throughput screening tools should allow for increased innovation and the discovery of novel drug candidates over the currently used animal models. In the context of this TM permeation model, it may promote the development of topical drugs and formulations that can non-invasively traverse the TM and provide tissue-targeted drug delivery as an alternative to systemic treatment, an objective which has seen limited study until present.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1114
JournalPharmaceuticals
Volume15
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2022

Funding

This research and the APC were funded by Office of Naval Research grant number N00014-20-1-2874.

FundersFunder number
Office of Naval ResearchN00014-20-1-2874

    Keywords

    • drug permeation
    • in vitro 3D tissue model
    • oto-therapeutics
    • tympanic membrane

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