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

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

Sterically stabilized phospholipid nanomicelles (SSM) are novel, long-acting, biocompatible, and biodegradable phospholipid-based drug delivery vehicles that act as a versatile carrier platform for peptides and water-insoluble drugs. This approach entails self-assembly of distearoylphosphatidylethanolamine covalently linked to polyethylene glycol of molecular weight 2,000 (DSPE-PEG 2000 ) with drugs to form sterically stabilized phospholipid nanomicelles in an aqueous milieu (SSM; size: ∼15 nm in diameter) [13, 18] . The nanomicelles are composed of a hydrophilic corona that houses amphipathic peptide drugs, such as TREM1 peptide (Fig. 2 , animated) and GLP-1, and a hydrophobic core that accommodates waterinsoluble drugs, such as 17-AAG. They are simple to prepare and, unlike liposomes, can be stored in a lyophilized form without lyo-or cryoprotectants for extended periods of time. Nanoparticles can be constructed by various methodologies so that the effect can be targeted at the desired site [6] [7] [8] .