Time Analysis of Poly(Lactic-Co-Glycolic) Acid Nanoparticle Uptake by Major Organs Following Acute Intravenous and Oral Administration in Mice and Rats

Abstract

The use of nanotechnology in food and agriculture is expected to revolutionize these two industries through consumer health benefits and increased product yield. Nanoparticles (NPs) can be used to deliver specific bioactives with foods for improved health or to deliver herbicides or insecticides to plants in a controlled manner for improved yield. However, as nanotechnology makes its way into the food and agriculture industries, consumer safety becomes a concern. The first step in assessing nanoparticle toxicity is to determine relative nanoparticle biodistribution in vivo as a function of time following administration of the NP. It is the goal of this review to report on time profiles of NP uptake in major organs of rats and mice. The results are based on 10 papers focused on the study of the biodistribution of poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) NPs, two of which report on orally delivered NP systems and the other eight on intravenous delivery. The concentrations of NPs in various organs—liver, spleen, kidney, lung, heart, and brain—are tracked over 24 hours following single dose administration as a starting point for risk assessment. It was evident that most organs studied showed decreasing particle concentrations over time after administration of a single dose. Over all four time frames studied—0.5–1 h, 1.5–3 h, 4–6 h, and 24 h—the brain and heart showed little to no uptake of particles in both animal models.