Current approaches employed for the oral delivery of proteins and peptides for enhanced GIT absorption
Numerous strategies have been investigated in an effort to effectively deliver proteins and peptides via the oral route (Fogueri and Singh, 2009). Most of these systems target the GIT barrier in an attempt to overcome its restrictive nature and subsequently increase the oral bioavailability (Brown, 2005 and Fogueri and Singh, 2009). Enteric coating has also been used to enable protection of the protein or peptide from pepsin digestion in the stomach, however, the reliability and efficiency of enteric coating are variable due to the presence of a wide range of pH values and enzymes present in the GIT (Hussan et al., 2012). In addition, polymers used for enteric coating may undergo uncontrolled polymerization, during handling and storage, resulting in failure to release the molecule at the target site (Fawzi et al., 1991).