A comparison of the nanoparticle effective diffusion rate in mucus (Dm) and the effective diffusion rate in water (Dw) of the receptor-targeted nanocomplexes (RTNs), polystyrene (PS) nanoparticles and siRNA alone through three different types of static layers of mucus. Dm/Dw is the relative restriction of diffusion in mucus compared with water.
| Particle | Diffusion in PGM (cm2 s−1) | Dm/Dw (PGM) | Diffusion in NM (cm2 s−1) | Dm/Dw (NM) | Diffusion in CFM (cm2 s−1) | Dm/Dw (CFM) |
| siRNA | 3.75×10−9 | 1.57×10−2 | 1.31×10−8 | 1.11×10−2 | 2.33×10−9 | 2.66×10−3 |
| RTNs | 1.38×10−8 | 1.93×10−1 | 8.71×10−9 | 9.12×10−2 | 2.67×10−9 | 3.74×10−2 |
| PS | 5.75×10−9 | 4.82×102 | − | − | N/A | N/A |
↵CFM, cystic fibrosis human airway mucus; N/A, data not applicable as effective translocation was not achieved; NM, normal human airway mucus; PGM, pig gastric mucus; PS, polystyrene; RTN, receptor-targeted nanocomplex; siRNA, short interfering RNA.