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Nanobiotechnology 2018
Page 39
Nano Research & Applications
ISSN: 2471-9838
E u r o S c i C o n C o n f e r e n c e o n
Nanotech & Nanobiotechnology
J u l y 1 2 - 1 3 , 2 0 1 8
P a r i s , F r a n c e
T
he pulmonary route offers many advantages for drug delivery such as the
high surface area and the close proximity to the blood circulation. The
air-blood barrier of the alveoli in the lungs is around 500 nm thick. Above the
epithelium cells of the alveoli lies a thin aqueous layer with a thickness of 50-
80 nm. A monolayer of phospholipids, natural lipids and few proteins called the
lung surfactant (LS) adsorbs onto this aqueous film. The major phospholipid
classes include phosphatidylcholines and phosphatidylglycerols. One of the
main roles of the LS is to reduce the surface tension experienced in the lungs
during breathing cycles in order to prevent lung collapse. From the perspective
of pulmonary drug delivery, the LS is the first point of interaction for the
drug carriers. With the advancements of nanomedicine, nanoparticles (NPs)
became highly relevant as novel drug delivery systems. In particular, there is
a great scientific interest for the use of biodegradable NPs for the pulmonary
delivery route. The objective of our work is to develop a biomimetic model of
the LS and study the effects upon interaction with NPs. Therefore, we focus on
understanding the mechanism of interaction between biodegradable polymeric
NPs with the biomimetic model of the LS and test whether the stability and
lateral architecture of LS is affected. These measurements are done by using
Langmuir monolayers at the air-water interface and imaged using Brewster
angle microscopy. Results show that the film stability upon compression is not
affected, but there are significant changes in the lateral domain organization of
the LS upon NP addition. This work is significant because it helps understand
the mechanism of NP-LS interaction and will provide an
in-vitro
screening
approach to assess nanotoxicology.
Biophysical studies on the interaction of polymeric
nanoparticles with the lung surfactant
W Daear and E J Prenner
University of Calgary, Canada
W Daear et al., Nano Res Appl 2018, Volume 4
DOI: 10.21767/2471-9838-C2-011
Biography
W Daear is a PhD Candidate at the University of Calgary. She
has a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in
Nanoscience. She currently has 3 publications in peer reviewed
articles (
J. Phys. Chem. B., Colloids Surf. B, and Biochim.
Biophys. Acta, Biomember
).
wtdaear@ucalgary.ca