Abstract
Among an organism's entry portals, the respiratory tract is one of the most promising routes for non-invasive administration of therapeutics for local and systemic delivery. On the other hand, it is the subtlest to protect from environmental pollution and microbial occurrences. Here, the biokinetics, distribution, and clearance trends of gold ultrasmall-in-nano architectures administered through a single intranasal application have been quantitatively evaluated. Apart from reaching the lung parenchyma, the (bio)degradable nano-architectures are able to translocate as well to secondary organs and be almost completely excreted within 10 days. These findings further support the clinical relevance of plasmonic nanomaterials for oncology and infectious disease treatment and management. Notably, this investigation also provides crucial information regarding the associated risks as a consequence of the pulmonary delivery of nanoparticles.
Highlights
Investigations on the biokinetic behaviours of nanomaterials, including the absorption–distribution–metabolism–elimination (ADME) processes, are essential for their clinical translation and safety evaluation in agreement with the opinions of the Scienti c Committee on Emerging and Newly Identi ed Health Risks (SCENIHR).[1,2] Nanomaterials can penetrate into organisms by voluntary administration or unintentional contact and through several modes such as injection, inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact.[3]
The gold ultrasmall nanoparticles (USNPs) contained in nano architectures (NAs) were formed through fast reduction of gold using sodium borohydride in the presence of poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS), resulting in USNPs with an average diameter of 3.2 Æ 0.7 nm (Fig. 1)
It is worth remembering that NAsdegrade into their building blocks, i.e. silicic acid, polymers, and gold USNPs, within 48 h, as comprehensively investigated in various relevant physiological uids and a cellular environment (Fig. S1).†14,21 NAs demonstrate encouraging clinical translation potential for a noble metal-based nanomaterial, due to their biosafety and non-persistent behaviours.[18,20]
Summary
Investigations on the biokinetic behaviours of nanomaterials, including the absorption–distribution–metabolism–elimination (ADME) processes, are essential for their clinical translation and safety evaluation in agreement with the opinions of the Scienti c Committee on Emerging and Newly Identi ed Health Risks (SCENIHR).[1,2] Nanomaterials can penetrate into organisms by voluntary administration or unintentional contact and through several modes such as injection (intravenous, subcutaneous, and intratumoral), inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact.[3] Among these, delivery through inhalation is especially interesting due to the large surface area of the lungs (average 150 m2), thin alveolar epithelium, permeable membrane, and extensive vasculature, which can allow substantial and rapid absorption of nanomaterials.[4,5] patients can self-administer therapeutics without the need for a trained staff.[4] The inhalation route may increase local or systemic efficacy and bioavailability of therapeutics as it circumvents metabolic barriers such as the hepatic rst-pass effect.[6] it is ideal and practical for the delivery of drugs and emerging systems like nanomaterials, in order to treat respiratory ailments like asthma and microbial infections, as well as systemic diseases.[7,8] Overall, identifying and analysing the biokinetics of nanomaterials in terms of accumulation in the lungs, translocation to secondary organs, and excretion a er exposure are crucial from both clinical and environmental perspectives.[9]
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