Issue 2, 2012

Biophysical interaction between corticosteroids and natural surfactant preparation: implications for pulmonary drug delivery using surfactant as a carrier

Abstract

Intratracheal administration of corticosteroids using a natural pulmonary surfactant as a delivery vehicle has recently received significant attention in hopes of treating premature newborns with or at high risk for chronic lung disease. As a new practice, both the surfactant preparation used as the carrier and the corticosteroid delivered as the anti-inflammatory agent, and their mixing ratios, have not been standardized and optimized. Given the concern that corticosteroids delivered via a pulmonary surfactant may compromise its surface activity and thus worsen lung mechanics, the present study was carried out to characterize the biophysical interaction between a natural surfactant preparation, Infasurf, and two commonly used inhaled corticosteroids, budesonide and beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP). Based on surface activity measurements by the Langmuir balance and lateral film structure studied by atomic force microscopy, our findings suggest that when Infasurf is used as a carrier, a budesonide concentration less than 1 wt% of surfactant or a BDP concentration up to 10 wt% should not significantly affect the biophysical properties of Infasurf, thus being feasible for pulmonary delivery. Increasing corticosteroid concentration beyond this range leads to early collapse of the surfactant film due to increased film fluidization. Our study further suggests that different affinities to the surfactant films are responsible for the different behavior of budesonide and BDP. In addition to the translational value in treating chronic lung disease, this study may also have implications in inhaled steroid therapy to treat asthma.

Graphical abstract: Biophysical interaction between corticosteroids and natural surfactant preparation: implications for pulmonary drug delivery using surfactant as a carrier

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
28 Jul 2011
Accepted
28 Sep 2011
First published
01 Nov 2011

Soft Matter, 2012,8, 504-511

Biophysical interaction between corticosteroids and natural surfactant preparation: implications for pulmonary drug delivery using surfactant as a carrier

Y. E. Wang, H. Zhang, Q. Fan, C. R. Neal and Y. Y. Zuo, Soft Matter, 2012, 8, 504 DOI: 10.1039/C1SM06444D

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