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Updated: Mar 16, 2026

Manufacture and Drug Delivery Applications of Silk Nanoparticles
Published on: October 8, 2016
Controlled drug release from lung-targeted nanocarriers via chemically mediated shell permeabilisation
Hanpeng Chen1, Arcadia Woods1, Ben Forbes1
1Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, Franklin-Wilkins Building, King's College London, 150 Stamford Street, London SE1 9NH, UK.
Chemically mediated shell permeabilization enhances drug release from lung-targeted nanocarriers. This approach offers control over drug delivery rates and extents, particularly for lipid shell nanocarriers in lung environments.
Area of Science:
- Nanomedicine
- Drug Delivery
- Materials Science
Background:
- Controlling drug release from nanocarriers after lung deposition is challenging.
- Nanocarriers are promising for lung therapeutic agent administration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if chemical shell permeabilization can control nanocarrier drug release rates and extents.
- To evaluate this method for lung-targeted nanocarriers.
Main Methods:
- Rifampicin loaded into lipid (50nm) and polymer (250nm) nanocarriers.
- Drug release tested at pH 7.4 and 4.2 with and without chemical permeabilizers (Pluronic L62D, H(+)).
Main Results:
- Permeabilizers increased release rate and extent at pH 7.4 for both nanocarrier types.
- Lipid nanocarriers showed significant distension and polymer nanocarriers underwent hydrolysis.
- Lipid nanocarriers maintained enhanced release at pH 4.2, unlike polymer nanocarriers.
Conclusions:
- Chemically mediated shell permeabilization effectively manipulates drug release from nanocarriers.
- This strategy shows potential for controlled drug delivery from lung-targeted nanocarriers, especially lipid-based systems.
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