We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Nebulization of model hydrogel nanoparticles to macrophages at the air-liquid interface
Summary
This study nebulized hydrogel nanoparticles onto macrophage cells at an air-liquid interface to simulate pulmonary nanoparticle deposition, finding that delivery method and particle physicochemical properties significantly affected uptake and cellular response compared to conventional submerged cell culture exposure.
Nanoparticle evaluation within the pulmonary airspace has increasingly important implications for human health, with growing interest from drug delivery, environmental, and toxicology fields. While there have been widespread investigations of nanoparticle physiochemical properties following many routes of administration, nanoparticle behavior at the air-liquid interface (ALI) is less well-characterized. In this work, we fabricate two formulations of poly(ethylene)-glycol diacrylate (PEGDA)-based model nanoparticles to establish an in vitro workflow allowing evaluation of nanoparticle charge effects at the ALI. Both cationic and anionic PEGDA formulations were synthesized with similar hydrodynamic diameters around ~225 nm and low polydispersity, with expected surface charges corresponding with the respective functional co-monomer. We find that both formulations are readily nebulized from an aqueous suspension in a commercial Aeroneb® Lab Nebulizer, but the aqueous delivery solution served to slightly increase the overall hydrodynamic and geometric size of the cationic particle formulation. However, nanoparticle loading at 50 μg/ml of either formulation did not influence the resultant aerosol diameter from the nebulizer. To assess aerosol delivery in vitro, we designed a 3D printed adapter capable of ensuring aerosol delivery to transwell 24-well culture plates. Nanoparticle uptake by macrophages was compared between traditional cell culture techniques and that of ALI-cultured macrophages following aerosol delivery. Cell viability was unaffected by nanoparticle delivery using either method. However, only traditional cell culture methods demonstrated significant uptake that was dependent on the nanoparticle surface charge. Concurrently, ALI culture resulted in lower metabolic activity of macrophages than those in traditional cell culture, leading to lower overall nanoparticle uptake at ALI. Overall, this work demonstrates that base-material similarities between both particle formulations provide an expected consistency in aerosol delivery regardless of the nanoparticle surface charge and provides an important workflow that enables a holistic evaluation of aerosolizable nanoparticles.
Sign in to start a discussion.
More Papers Like This
Intratracheal Administration of Nanoplastics With Varying Surface Hydrophobicity Results in Coarsely Vacuolated Alveolar Macrophages, Transient Respiratory Inflammation, and Mild Collagen Deposition
Researchers administered nanoplastics with high and low surface hydrophobicity to mouse lungs via oropharyngeal aspiration and tracked pulmonary inflammation, macrophage changes, and collagen deposition over 28 days. Hydrophobic nanoplastics caused transient pulmonary inflammation peaking at 24 hours and resolving by day 7, while both formulations produced distinctive vacuolated alveolar macrophages, with only minor collagen increases.
Development of a Novel Air–Liquid Interface Culture System to Investigate the Effects of Nanoplastics on Alveolar Epithelium
Researchers developed an air-liquid interface exposure chamber specifically designed for nanoplastics that float in liquid culture media, exposing alveolar epithelial cells to nanoplastic aerosols and finding toxicological effects that would be missed by standard submerged culture systems.
Engineering of pulmonary surfactant corona on inhaled nanoparticles to operate in the lung system
Researchers reviewed how inhaled nanoparticles become coated with lung surfactant — the fluid lining the air sacs of the lungs — forming a protein-lipid shell that changes how the particles interact with cells and affects how toxic they are. Understanding this coating process is key to designing safer inhaled drug delivery systems and predicting how airborne nanoplastics and other nanoparticles behave once they reach deep lung tissue.
Nanoplastics inSimulated Human Lung Fluids: AggregationKinetics, Theoretical Model Simulation, and Effects on Pulmonary Bacteria
Researchers studied how polystyrene nanoplastics of different sizes and surface charges behave in simulated lung fluids, finding that all particles aggregated in inflammatory fluid while charge-modified particles remained stable in healthy fluid. Aggregation followed classical colloidal theory and exposure to nanoplastics significantly inhibited the growth of key pulmonary bacteria.
Nanoplastics in Simulated Human Lung Fluids: Aggregation Kinetics, Theoretical Model Simulation, and Effects on Pulmonary Bacteria
Researchers studied how nanoplastics behave when they reach the lungs by testing them in simulated lung fluids. The nanoplastics clumped together more in fluids that mimic inflamed lungs compared to healthy lung fluids, and they were toxic to bacteria that naturally live in the lungs. This suggests that people with existing lung conditions may be especially vulnerable to inhaled nanoplastic exposure.