Mucus is a complex hydrogel that acts as a natural barrier to drug delivery at different mucosal surfaces including the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and vaginal tracts. To elucidate the role mucus plays in drug delivery, different in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo mucus models and techniques have been utilized. Drug and drug carrier diffusion can be studied using various techniques in either isolated mucus gels or mucus present on cell cultures and tissues. The species, age, and potential disease state of the animal from which mucus is derived can all impact mucus composition and structure, and therefore impact drug and drug carrier diffusion. This review provides an overview of the techniques used to characterize drug and drug carrier diffusion, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the different models available to highlight the information they can afford.

粘液是一种复杂的水凝胶，在不同的粘膜表面（包括呼吸道，胃肠道和阴道道）上作为天然的药物传递屏障。为了阐明粘液在药物递送中的作用，已经使用了不同的体外，体内和离体粘液模型和技术。可以使用各种技术在分离的粘液凝胶或细胞培养物和组织中存在的粘液中研究药物和药物载体的扩散。衍生出粘液的动物的种类，年龄和潜在疾病状态都可能影响粘液的组成和结构，从而影响药物和药物载体的扩散。这篇综述概述了用于表征药物和药物载体扩散的技术，