Inhaled lipid nanocarriers for pulmonary delivery of glucocorticoids: Previous strategies, recent advances and key factors description

ALTUBE, MARÍA JULIA; PEREZ, NOELIA; ROMERO, EDER LILIA; MORILLA, MARÍA JOSÉ; HIGA, LETICIA HERMINIA; PEREZ, ANA PAULA

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICS

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2023 vol. 642

0378-5173

In view of the strong anti-inflammatory activity of glucocorticoids (GC) they are used in the treatment of almostall inflammatory lung diseases. In particular, inhaled GC (IGC) allow high drug concentrations to be deposited inthe lung and may reduce the incidence of adverse effects associated with systemic administration. However,rapid absorption through the highly absorbent surface of the lung epithelium may limit the success of localizedtherapy. Therefore, inhalation of GC incorporated into nanocarriers is a possible approach to overcome thisdrawback. In particular, lipid nanocarriers, which showed high pulmonary biocompatibility and are well knownin the pharmaceutical industry, have the best prospects for pulmonary delivery of GC by inhalation. This reviewprovides an overview of the pre-clinical applications of inhaled GC-lipid nanocarriers based on several keyfactors that will determine the efficiency of local pulmonary GC delivery: 1) stability to nebulization, 2) depositionprofile in the lungs, 3) mucociliary clearance, 4) selective accumulation in target cells, 5) residence time inthe lung and systemic absorption and 6) biocompatibility. Finally, novel preclinical pulmonary models for inflammatorylung diseases are also discussed