Dry Water for Delivery of Biologics to the Airways

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Foams, dispersions of air in water, are seen in everyday life: from fire-fighting to consumer shaving products. Such dispersions may be stabilised by colloidal particles which are irreversibly bound to the air-water interface. There has been recent interest in the transitional phase inversion of these materials by alteration of colloidal stabiliser chemistry. This leads to an exceedingly uncommon phenomenon - stable dispersions of water in air, known as "dry water". These materials appear as a free-flowing dry powder but which may >98% water, giving a density of ~1g/cm3. Therein lies a big opportunity in aerosol science: the delivery of stable, dry, monodisperse powders to the airways which contain sensitive therapeutic proteins in their native solution structure. Delivery of powders has great advantages including simple "green" actuation without propellant and consistent particle size for precision targeting of the target site. Furthermore, "dry water" has significant advantages in delivering biologics such as proteins, whole cells, and RNA, which cannot be stabilised without water present. However, several questions remain: How can we prepare dry water of the right particle size for this application? What are the best devices to allow effective administration? How can the biologic be liberated from the dry water after administration?