Presentation: A Human Ex Vivo Vaginal Barrier Model for Advancing Women’s Health Research

Conventional vaginal barrier screening models lack physiological relevance and poorly predict compound absorption and product safety. We developed an ex vivo human vaginal tissue barrier model using healthy explanted donor tissue. Tissue was mounted in a modified 48-well transwell, allowing open access and simple sampling. Simulated vaginal fluid (pH ~4.5) containing compounds was applied luminally. Barrier integrity and viability was determined by FITC–dextran (4 kDa) leakage <1%/h and <20% of intracellular Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) content. Absorption of model compounds caffeine and mannitol also reflected expected transcellular and paracellular transport pathways, respectively, with >2-fold transport ratio between the two. Fluorescently labelled compounds (0.44–20kDa) demonstrated size-dependent permeability. Small molecule permeability rankings aligned with published vaginal and intestinal barrier models, from highly permeable water (Papp ~27–35×10⁻⁶ cm/s) to low‑permeability atenolol (Papp ~1.5×10⁻⁶ cm/s). Overall, this physiologically relevant platform enables improved prediction of vaginal drug absorption and Feminine Care trace components.