Non-invasive aerosol delivery and transport of gold nanoparticles to the brain

Abstract

Targeted delivery of nanoscale carriers containing packaged payloads to the central nervous system has potential use in many diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Moreover, understanding of the bio-interactions of the engineered nanoparticles used for tissue-specific delivery by non-invasive delivery approaches are also of paramount interest. Here, we have examined this issue systematically in a relatively simple invertebrate model using insects. We synthesized 5 nm, positively charged gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and targeted their delivery using the electrospray aerosol generator. Our results revealed that after the exposure of synthesized aerosol to the insect antenna, AuNPs reached the brain within an hour. Nanoparticle accumulation in the brain increased linearly with the exposure time. Notably, electrophysiological recordings from neurons in the insect brain several hours after exposure did not show any significant alterations in their spontaneous and odor-evoked spiking properties. Taken together, our findings reveal that aerosolized delivery of nanoparticles can be an effective non-invasive approach for delivering nanoparticles to the brain, and also presents an approach to monitor the short-term nano-biointeractions.

In vivo tracking and quantification of inhaled aerosol using magnetic particle imaging towards inhaled therapeutic monitoring

“…Further development of smaller, but still MPI-compatible nanoparticles that can tag onto small-sized therapeutics may enable MPI tracking of small therapeutics in the future. Such smaller nanoparticles may also be able to penetrate the blood-lung barrier and be targeted to specific organs, similar to how 5 nm gold nanoparticles can be non-invasively targeted to the brain 68 . Regardless, MPI can currently complement SPECT in the many current applications where large-size radioaerosols such as 99mTc albumin colloid aerosols are used 9 .…”

<p>Docetaxel-Loaded Cholesterol-PEG Co-Modified Poly (n-Butyl) Cyanoacrylate Nanoparticles for Antitumor Drug Pulmonary Delivery: Preparation, Characterization, and in vivo Evaluation</p>

“…According to previous studies, NPs solution can prevent mucociliary clearance of lung in vivo, and increase the uptake of NPs by epithelial and cancer cells simultaneously. [23][24][25] However, NPs are easily exhaled through the respiratory tract, which is a major disadvantage for pulmonary administration of NPs. 26 To enable smooth inhalation and deposition of drugloaded NPs into the lungs, it is necessary to prepare a formulation which has good inhalability and does not change the physicochemical properties and sustained release characteristics of drug-loaded NPs.…”

Electrospray Functionalization of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles with Transferrin for Cerenkov Radiation Induced Cancer Therapy

“…11,12 Recently, electrospray has been used to generate nanoparticle standards, 13 fabricate solar cells, 12,14 and deliver nanoparticles noninvasively to the brain of locusts. 15 Electrospray has also been extended to the synthesis of polymer and protein nanoparticles for biomedical applications. [16][17][18][19][20] Many of these studies incorporate drug molecules into the electrospray synthesized nanoparticles to create biocompatible drug carriers.…”

“…ROS production from our particles follows a similar trend, showing anatase TiO 2 nanoparticles with an average diameter of 25 nm producing the highest ROS activity per unit area. In this work we focus on 25 nm anatase TiO 2 nanoparticles, although 5,10,15, and 50 nm nanoparticles were also successfully coated with Tf using electrospray.…”