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

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Ruxana Sadikot, Emory University; Arun V. Kolanjiyil, North Carolina State University; Clement Kleinstreuer, North Carolina State University; Israel Rubinstein, University of Illinois at Chicago
• Language: English
• Date: 2017-05
• Publisher: Karger
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2017 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000477086
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Biomedicine Hub
• Volume: 2
• Issue: 2
• Start Page: 1
• End Page: 12
• Grant/Funding Information: R.T.S. received funding from the US Department of Veterans Affairs and a VA Merit Grant.
• Keywords: Acute respiratory distress syndrome; Nanobiotechnology; Nanomedicine; Potential therapies; Mortality; Acute lung injury; Treatment
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Pathology; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery; Engineering, Biomedical; Engineering, Mechanical

Abstract

Acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) represent a heterogenous group of lung disease in critically ill patients that continues to have high mortality. Despite the increased understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of ARDS, specific targeted treatments for ARDS have yet to be developed. ARDS represents an unmet medical need with an urgency to develop effective pharmacotherapies. Multiple promising targets have been identified that could lead to the development of potential therapies for ARDS; however, they have been limited because of difficulty with the mode of delivery, especially in critically ill patients. Nanobiotechnology is the basis of innovative techniques to deliver drugs targeted to the site of inflamed organs, such as the lungs. Nanoscale drug delivery systems have the ability to improve the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of agents, allowing an increase in the biodistribution of therapeutic agents to target organs and resulting in improved efficacy with reduction in drug toxicity. Although attractive, delivering nanomedicine to lungs can be challenging as it requires sophisticated systems. Here we review the potential of novel nanomedicine approaches that may prove to be therapeutically beneficial for the treatment of this devastating condition.