Biophysical inhibition of synthetic vs. naturally-derived pulmonary surfactant preparations by polymeric nanoparticles

Abstract

Reasonable suspicion has accumulated that inhaled nano-scale particulate matter influences the biophysical function of the pulmonary surfactant system. Hence, it is evident to provide novel insights into the extent and mechanisms of nanoparticle–surfactant interactions in order to facilitate the fabrication of safe nanomedicines suitable for pulmonary applications.Negatively- and positively-charged poly(styrene) nanoparticles (diameters of ~100nm) served as model carriers. Nanoparticles were incubated with several synthetic and naturally-derived pulmonary surfactants to characterize the sensitivity of each preparation to biophysical inactivation. Changes in surface properties (i.e. adsorption and dynamic surface tension behavior) were monitored in a pulsating bubble surfactometer.Both nanoparticle formulations revealed a dose-dependent influence on the biophysical behavior of all investigated pulmonary surfactants. However, the surfactant sensitivity towards inhibition depended on both the carrier type, where negatively-charged nanoparticles showed increased inactivation potency compared to their positively-charged counterparts, and surfactant composition. Among the surfactants tested, synthetic mixtures (i.e. phospholipids, phospholipids supplemented with surfactant protein B, and Venticute®) were more susceptible to surface-activity inhibition as the more complex naturally-derived preparations (i.e. Alveofact® and large surfactant aggregates isolated from rabbit bronchoalveolar lavage fluid).Overall, nanoparticle characteristics and surfactant constitution both influence the extent of biophysical inhibition of pulmonary surfactants.