Designer Nanomedicines: Formulation Considerations for the Next Generation of Inhalable Therapeutics

While respiratory diseases globally number among the top causes of mortality, the field of pulmonary drug delivery has lagged other routes of administration in the application of novel therapeutic approaches, in large part due to formulation challenges. Over the past twenty years, advanced knowledge surrounding cellular responses to synthetic nanoparticles has emerged for cancer, tissue regeneration, imaging, and vaccine applications. Such studies have created tremendous opportunity for immune engineering applications, requiring precision designer nanoparticle formulations. Translating this knowledge to inhalable pulmonary drug delivery requires additional design considerations for dry powder stability and aerosolization, as well as delivery of large bio- and macromolecules, coordinated surface functionalization, tunable degradation rates, and precise nanoparticle shape. In this talk, I will discuss emerging trends in the design of nanoparticles for pulmonary drug delivery, as well as specific formulation challenges and considerations for scale-up and translation. Specific to pulmonary drug delivery, I will highlight our recent work addressing the role of surface charge, porosity, particle shape, and degradation rates on immune engineering applications within the lung.