微针用于生物大分子及纳米药物透皮给药的尝试与挑战

生物大分子及纳米药物,比如,亚单位疫苗、DNA疫苗、以及针对真皮层的治疗药物,作为近年来新兴的治疗药物,在有些治疗领域有着透皮给药的需求。由于具有靶向性高,疗效显著等特点,生物大分子及纳米药物逐渐成为新的研究热点。微针作为一种新型的给药技术,不仅具有无痛、给药方便等优点,而且运用物理手段可大幅提高大分子甚至纳米药物的透皮吸收及皮层靶向,能够避过胃肠道消化作用以及肝脏首过效用。将微针技术与生物大分子药物相结合,能够同时发挥两者的优势,实现高靶向生物药物的无痛给药。本文简述微针透皮给药技术、以及生物大分子给药的研究进展,对微针技术用于生物大分子及纳米药物透皮给药的尝试研究做了介绍和总结,对存在的技术挑战进行了分析和展望。     

脑部靶向给药技术

介于脑部毛细血管与脑组织之间的血脑屏障是一层难以通过的生理屏障 ,能够阻挡大多数外源物质进入脑内。临床上采用的中枢神经系统药物大多是能够扩散通过血脑屏障的小分子脂溶性物质 ,而这类药物已经远远不能满足临床需要 ,很多疾病的诊断、治疗需要大分子、水溶性物质。传统的将这类大分子药物导入脑部的方法效果差、危险性大 ,因此近年来针对能够通过血脑屏障脑部靶向给药技术的研究逐渐成为热点。综述了近年来国际上使用嵌合肽、免疫脂质体及纳米粒子解决脑部靶向性给药的研究进展。     

多肽和蛋白质药物的吸入给药

概述了多肽和蛋白质药物的肺吸收机制和用于吸入给药的研究进展,并简要讨论了多肽和蛋白质药物在用于吸入给药时存在的问题及今后的发展方向,为多肽和蛋白质药物的吸入给药研究提供一定的参考。     

微针阵列用于生物大分子药物的递送

生物大分子药物难以跨过皮肤的角质层屏障,而微针作为一种微创、无痛、高效的经皮给药方式,能有效破解大分子药物透皮速率和吸收量低下的难题.本文详细综述了微针阵列技术在各类生物大分子药物经皮递送中的应用进展,包括单独微针阵列(固体实心微针、空心微针、涂层微针和可溶性微针)以及微针与其他制剂技术(如微粒给药系统)、医疗器械和智能释药系统等结合对大分子药物的促渗作用和控释作用.同时对微针用于大分子药物递送领域目前面临的问题、发展前景等作出分析.     

药物制剂技术在基因药物研制中的应用

基因药物是未来药物的发展方向,必须研究适宜的给药系统以促进基因药物的吸收和控制药效。基因药物的给药途径主要包括注射、口服、肺靶向、脑靶向和心血管基因转换等。所采用的剂型主要包括微球、脂质体、微乳等。本文就基因药物给药途径、所采用的主要剂型及各自所具备的优势作一综述。另外,简要介绍了基因药物给药系统的纳米技术。     

壳聚糖作为药物缓释控释载体的研究进展

壳聚糖因其具有良好的生物学特性而成为多种药物载体研究的热点。药物经过壳聚糖负载后,不仅能够达到缓释控释的目的,还能够改变药物的给药方式,以此减少给药次数,降低药物不良反应,提高药物生物利用度。本文就壳聚糖和改性壳聚糖作为普通药物和生物大分子药物载体的研究进展作一综述。     

蛋白质和多肽药物长效性研究进展

基于分子生物学和重组技术的发展,蛋白质和多肽已经成为一类重要的药物,但是其稳定性差,生物利用率低,半衰期短等问题也日益受到关注。本文重点介绍了一些新的给药途径和给药系统,例如鼻腔、颊等给药途径以及黏膜给药系统、透皮给药系统、缓控释技术等给药系统的进展。综述了对于蛋白质和多肽药物进行定点突变和化学修饰,以达到增加其长效性的一些新方法。     

小鼠活体内制备姐妹染色单体互换(SCE)的初探

近年来,动物潘体内制备 SCE 的方法,在给药的途径和方式上计有:药物水剂腹腔注射,每小时一次,连续若干次,药物片剂皮下一次性埋植,腹腔一次注射活性炭吸附的药物。在给药的方式上如何做到简便,有效,是值得探讨的课题。本实验室试用药物-液体石蜡混合液皮下注射法,获得成功。     

聚乳酸羟基乙酸纳米微球在肿瘤药物递送中的应用

药物递送载体的应用使得小分子药物、蛋白质药物,以及基因药物能够通过多种给药方式用于癌症的治疗。聚乳酸-羟基乙酸共聚物因其具有良好的生物相容性及生物可降解性,成为广泛采用的抗癌药物载体之一,可以通过静脉、皮下、口服等多种给药途径用于化疗、基因治疗、蛋白治疗给药及接种免疫等诸多方面,显示了良好的应用前景。     

壳聚糖及其衍生物作为药物载体研究进展

壳聚糖是甲壳素脱乙酰化的衍生物,是自然界中唯一的碱性多糖.壳聚糖及其衍生物是一类资源丰富、可生物降解的天然聚合物,具有生物相容性、高电荷密度、无毒性和粘膜粘附性,广泛应用于生物医学和药物制剂领域.壳聚糖作为药物载体可以控制药物释放、提高药物疗效、降低药物毒副作用,可以提高疏水性药物对细胞膜的通透性和药物稳定性及改变给药途径,还可以加强制刑的靶向给药能力.本文分别从壳聚糖及其衍生物在大分子药物载体、缓控释系统及不同部位给药系统中的应用进行了综述,以说明壳聚糖及其衍生物是一种优良的药物传递载体和新型药用辅料.     

Mechanisms of Pharmaceutical Aerosol Deposition in the Respiratory Tract

Aerosol delivery is noninvasive and is effective in much lower doses than required for oral administration. Currently, there are several types of therapeutic aerosol delivery systems, including the pressurized metered-dose inhaler, the dry powder inhaler, the medical nebulizer, the solution mist inhaler, and the nasal sprays. Both oral and nasal inhalation routes are used for the delivery of therapeutic aerosols. Following inhalation therapy, only a fraction of the dose reaches the expected target area. Knowledge of the amount of drug actually deposited is essential in designing the delivery system or devices to optimize the delivery efficiency to the targeted region of the respiratory tract. Aerosol deposition mechanisms in the human respiratory tract have been well studied. Prediction of pharmaceutical aerosol deposition using established lung deposition models has limited success primarily because they underestimated oropharyngeal deposition. Recent studies of oropharyngeal deposition of several drug delivery systems identify other factors associated with the delivery system that dominates the transport and deposition of the oropharyngeal region. Computational fluid dynamic simulation of the aerosol transport and deposition in the respiratory tract has provided important insight into these processes. Investigation of nasal spray deposition mechanisms is also discussed.     

Multiorgan microfluidic platform with breathable lung chamber for inhalation or intravenous drug screening and development

Efficient and economical delivery of pharmaceuticals to patients is critical for effective therapy. Here we describe a multiorgan (lung, liver, and breast cancer) microphysiological system (“Body-on-a-Chip”) designed to mimic both inhalation therapy and/or intravenous therapy using curcumin as a model drug. This system is “pumpless” and self-contained using a rocker platform for fluid (blood surrogate) bidirectional recirculation. Our lung chamber is constructed to maintain an air-liquid interface and contained a “breathable” component that was designed to mimic breathing by simulating gas exchange, contraction and expansion of the “lung” using a reciprocating pump. Three cell lines were used: A549 for the lung, HepG2 C3A for the liver, and MDA MB231 for breast cancer. All cell lines were maintained with high viability (>85%) in the device for at least 48 hr. Curcumin is used to treat breast cancer and this allowed us to compare inhalation delivery versus intravenous delivery of the drug in terms of effectiveness and potentially toxicity. Inhalation therapy could be potentially applied at home by the patient while intravenous therapy would need to be applied in a clinical setting. Inhalation therapy would be more economical and allow more frequent dosing with a potentially lower level of drug. For 24 hr exposure to 2.5 and 25 µM curcumin in the flow device the effect on lung and liver viability was small to insignificant, while there was a significant decrease in viability of the breast cancer (to 69% at 2.5 µM and 51% at 25 µM). Intravenous delivery also selectively decreased breast cancer viability (to 88% at 2.5 µM and 79% at 25 µM) but was less effective than inhalation therapy. The response in the static device controls was significantly reduced from that with recirculation demonstrating the effect of flow. These results demonstrate for the first time the feasibility of constructing a multiorgan microphysiological system with recirculating flow that incorporates a “breathable” lung module that maintains an air-liquid interface.     

Drug delivery and nanoparticles:applications and hazards

The use of nanotechnology in medicine and more specifically drug delivery is set to spread rapidly. Currently many substances are under investigation for drug delivery and more specifically for cancer therapy. Interestingly pharmaceutical sciences are using nanoparticles to reduce toxicity and side effects of drugs and up to recently did not realize that carrier systems themselves may impose risks to the patient. The kind of hazards that are introduced by using nanoparticles for drug delivery are beyond that posed by conventional hazards imposed by chemicals in classical delivery matrices. For nanoparticles the knowledge on particle toxicity as obtained in inhalation toxicity shows the way how to investigate the potential hazards of nanoparticles. The toxicology of particulate matter differs from toxicology of substances as the composing chemical(s) may or may not be soluble in biological matrices, thus influencing greatly the potential exposure of various internal organs. This may vary from a rather high local exposure in the lungs and a low or neglectable exposure for other organ systems after inhalation. However, absorbed species may also influence the potential toxicity of the inhaled particles. For nanoparticles the situation is different as their size opens the potential for crossing the various biological barriers within the body. From a positive viewpoint, especially the potential to cross the blood brain barrier may open new ways for drug delivery into the brain. In addition, the nanosize also allows for access into the cell and various cellular compartments including the nucleus. A multitude of substances are currently under investigation for the preparation of nanoparticles for drug delivery, varying from biological substances like albumin, gelatine and phospholipids for liposomes, and more substances of a chemical nature like various polymers and solid metal containing nanoparticles. It is obvious that the potential interaction with tissues and cells, and the potential toxicity, greatly depends on the actual composition of the nanoparticle formulation. This paper provides an overview on some of the currently used systems for drug delivery. Besides the potential beneficial use also attention is drawn to the questions how we should proceed with the safety evaluation of the nanoparticle formulations for drug delivery. For such testing the lessons learned from particle toxicity as applied in inhalation toxicology may be of use. Although for pharmaceutical use the current requirements seem to be adequate to detect most of the adverse effects of nanoparticle formulations, it can not be expected that all aspects of nanoparticle toxicology will be detected. So, probably additional more specific testing would be needed.     

ADEPT and related concepts

Antibody-based therapy has attracted interest because of its potential to improve selectivity. But the limitations of antibodies as delivery systems are well known and the objective of restricting action to tumor sites requires additional means. The ADEPT concept introduced two components, enzyme and prodrug, that have the advantage that they can be secondarily manipulated to augment the selectivity of the primary delivery systems. An antibody-enzyme conjugate (AEC) is no more selective as a delivery system than antibody itself and total catalytic capacity in tumor, plasma, and nontumor tissues is a function not only of concentration but also of volume. It is pointless giving a prodrug that is promptly activated by enzyme in blood. The ability to inactivate or clear plasma enzyme (PENCIL) by an antibody directed at its active site and modified to have low potential to penetrate the tumor is one of several ways of improving partition of enzyme between tumor and nontumor. A second opportunity for manipulation arises from structural differences between prodrug and active drug and the potential of enzymes to exploit that difference. However effective the enzyme delivery system, some leakage of active drug into plasma is likely and active drug access to hemopoietic tissues is dose limiting. An enzyme for which the active drug, but not the prodrug, is substrate, and which is conjugated to a macromolecule, is proposed. Some thymidylate synthetase inhibitors suggest themselves as ready agents for use in this intravascular inactivation of active drug (IVIAD). This approach is an alternative to inactivation of plasma enzyme.     

CFD simulation of aerosol delivery to a human lung via surface acoustic wave nebulization

Administration of drug in the form of particles through inhalation is generally preferable in the treatment of respiratory disorders. Conventional inhalation therapy devices such as inhalers and nebulizers, nevertheless, suffer from low delivery efficiencies, wherein only a small fraction of the inhaled drug reaches the lower respiratory tract. This is primarily because these devices are not able to produce a sufficiently fine drug mist that has aerodynamic diameters on the order of a few microns. This study employs computational fluid dynamics to investigate the transport and deposition of the drug particles produced by a new aerosolization technique driven by surface acoustic waves (SAWs) into an in silico lung model geometrically reconstructed using computed tomography scanning. The particles generated by the SAW are released in different locations in a spacer chamber attached to a lung model extending from the mouth to the 6th generation of the lung bronchial tree. An Eulerian approach is used to solve the Navier–Stokes equations that govern the airflow within the respiratory tract, and a Lagrangian approach is adopted to track the particles, which are assumed to be spherical and inert. Due to the complexity of the lung geometry, the airflow patterns vary as it penetrates deeper into the lung. High inertia particles tend to deposit at locations where the geometry experiences a significant reduction in cross section. Our findings, nevertheless, show that the injection location can influence the delivery efficiency: Injection points close to the spacer centerline result in deeper penetration into the lung. Additionally, we found that the ratio of drug particles entering the right lung is significantly higher than the left lung, independent of the injection location. This is in good agreement with this fact that the most of airflow enters to the right lobes.     

Nanotechnology and pharmaceutical inhalation aerosols

Pharmaceutical inhalation aerosols have been playing a crucial role in the health and well being of millions of people throughout the world for many years. The technology's continual advancement, the ease of use and the more desirable pulmonary-rather-than-needle delivery for systemic drugs has increased the attraction for the pharmaceutical aerosol in recent years. But administration of drugs by the pulmonary route is technically challenging because oral deposition can be high, and variations in inhalation technique can affect the quantity of drug delivered to the lungs. Recent advances in nanotechnology, particularly drug delivery field have encouraged formulation scientists to expand their reach in solving tricky problems related to drug delivery. Moreover, application of nanotechnology to aerosol science has opened up a new category of pharmaceutical aerosols (collectively known as nanoenabled-aerosols) with added advantages and effectiveness. In this review, some of the latest approaches of nano-enabled aerosol drug delivery system (including nano-suspension, trojan particles, bioadhesive nanoparticles and smart particle aerosols) that can be employed successfully to overcome problems of conventional aerosol systems have been introduced.     

纳米材料生物效应研究进展

随着纳米技术的快速发展,纳米材料在医学成像、疾病诊断、药物传输、癌症治疗、基因治疗等领域的应用和基础研究也在飞速发展.同时,纳米材料的这些有益应用使得人体通过吸入、经口、皮肤吸收和静脉注射等不同方式受到暴露.当纳米材料与生物体系发生相互作用时,有可能产生负面生物学效应,而这些潜在的毒理效应都是未知的.综述了纳米材料在生物医学领域巨大的应用前景,关注其对心血管系统、呼吸系统及转运到其他器官可能造成的负面效应,并探讨了纳米颗粒在引起心血管疾病及肺部炎症方面的可能机理与作用途径.最后对纳米材料的安全性评估和研究重点进行了总结.     

Chitosan-Stearic Acid Based Polymeric Micelles for the Effective Delivery of Tamoxifen: Cytotoxic and Pharmacokinetic Evaluation

Chitosan is a widely employed polysaccharide with positive zeta-potential and better tissue/cell adhesion. Its hydrophilicity, high viscosity, and insolubility at physiological pH are major hurdles in proper utilization of this macromolecule. Therefore, it was conjugated with biocompatible stearic acid and the conjugate was employed to develop polymeric micelles for delivery of tamoxifen to breast cancer cells. The conjugate was characterized by FT-IR and NMR, and the nanocarrier was characterized for micromeritics, surface charge, drug loading, and morphological attributes. The efficacy was evaluated by in vitro MTT studies, safety by erythrocyte compatibility, and biodistribution by in vivo pharmacokinetic studies. Despite better drug loading and sustained drug release, cytotoxicity on MCF-7 breast cancer cells was substantially enhanced and the pharmacokinetic profile was significantly modified. The AUC was enhanced manifolds along with reduced clearance. The findings are unique and provide an alternative to the conventional lipid-based nanocarriers for better dose delivery, tissue adhesion, and desired pharmacokinetic modulation.     

The next generation of bacteriophage therapy

Bacteriophage therapy for bacterial infections is a concept with an extensive but controversial history. There has been a recent resurgence of interest into bacteriophages owing to the increasing incidence of antibiotic resistance and virulent bacterial pathogens. Despite these efforts, bacteriophage therapy remains an underutilized option in Western medicine due to challenges such as regulation, limited host range, bacterial resistance to phages, manufacturing, side effects of bacterial lysis, and delivery. Recent advances in biotechnology, bacterial diagnostics, macromolecule delivery, and synthetic biology may help to overcome these technical hurdles. These research efforts must be coupled with practical and rigorous approaches at academic, commercial, and regulatory levels in order to successfully advance bacteriophage therapy into clinical settings.     

不同给药途径的治疗性纳米抗体研究进展

骆驼科及鲨鱼科动物血清中天然存在的纳米抗体具有不同于传统单克隆抗体的独特结构和分子量,这为抗体药物开发提供了全新的思路。纳米抗体较小的分子量和优异的稳定性使其在给药方面具有更大的灵活性,可以在一定程度上克服传统单克隆抗体在给药途径方面存在的局限性。同时,较小的分子量使纳米抗体具有双重药代动力学特征,既有优异的组织渗透性,又表现出快速的血液清除。重点介绍纳米抗体的药物代谢动力学特征和进一步改善药代动力学的方法,综述不同给药途径的纳米抗体药物研究进展,对其治疗特定疾病的可行性、安全性以及治疗效果进行分析,以期为纳米抗体药物研发中给药途径的选择提供参考。