Wheat germ agglutinin-conjugated nanoparticles for sustained cellular and lung delivery of budesonide

The purpose of our studies was to assess in vitro nanoparticles cellular uptake and cellular budesonide levels after treatment of alveolar epithelial cell lines with wheat germ agglutinin (WGA)-conjugated budesonide nanoparticles and pharmacokinetic evaluation of drug after intratracheal instillation of nanoparticles in rats. Confocal microscopy was used to study the cellular uptake of nanoparticles, and the cellular and lung tissue drug levels were estimated by HPLC. Higher amount of fluorescence observed in the cells treated with WGA nanoparticles, higher and sustained cellular drug levels, and better bioavailability in lungs of WGA-conjugated nanoparticles indicate superiority of WGA-conjugated nanoparticles over unconjugated nanoparticles.