Nanomedicine for Treatment of Acute Lung Injury and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Sadikot, Ruxana T.; Kolanjiyil, Arun V.; Kleinstreuer, Clement; Rubinstein, Israel

Despite advances in understanding the pathobiology of ARDS, treatment options for this devastating condition are limited. Nanomedicine, the medical application of nanotechnology, promises an endless range of applications from biomedical imaging to drug delivery and therapeutics. These novel approaches using nanotechnology are revolutionizing the future of medicine. Nanoparticulate drug delivery systems, designed as multifunctional engineered nanoparticles, appear to be particularly attractive and promising for drug delivery to organs such as the lung since they combine several opportunities like uniform distribution of drug dose among all ventilated alveoli, allowing for uniform cellular drug internalization. Besides sustained release of drugs in plasma and organs, other potential advantages of the system include the possibility of reduction in drug dosage, adverse effects, and drug interactions. Inhalational delivery of nanoparticles would also allow for targeted delivery of the drug while minimizing systemic effects. Although the field of nanomedicine offers multiple opportunities, it still is in its infancy and the research has to proceed in order to obtain specific targeting of the drug combined with modes of delivery. Ongoing studies offer several exciting prospects for the application of engineered nanomedicine preparations and aerosol preparation for drug delivery in the years to come.