title: Non-invasive aerosol delivery and transport of gold nanoparticles to the brain.
abstract: Targeted delivery of nanoscale carriers containing packaged payloads to the central nervous system has potential use in many diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Moreover, understanding of the bio-interactions of the engineered nanoparticles used for tissue-specific delivery by non-invasive delivery approaches are also of paramount interest. Here, we have examined this issue systematically in a relatively simple invertebrate model using insects. We synthesized 5 nm, positively charged gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and targeted their delivery using the electrospray aerosol generator. Our results revealed that after the exposure of synthesized aerosol to the insect antenna, AuNPs reached the brain within an hour. Nanoparticle accumulation in the brain increased linearly with the exposure time. Notably, electrophysiological recordings from neurons in the insect brain several hours after exposure did not show any significant alterations in their spontaneous and odor-evoked spiking properties. Taken together, our findings reveal that aerosolized delivery of nanoparticles can be an effective non-invasive approach for delivering nanoparticles to the brain, and also presents an approach to monitor the short-term nano-biointeractions.
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Science, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri 63130, USA.
authors.forename: Ramesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raliya
authors.affiliation: Systems Neuroscience and Neuromorphic Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri 63130, USA.
authors.forename: Debajit
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Saha
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Science, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri 63130, USA.
authors.forename: Tandeep S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Chadha
authors.affiliation: Systems Neuroscience and Neuromorphic Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri 63130, USA.
authors.forename: Baranidharan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Raman
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Science, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri 63130, USA.
authors.forename: Pratim
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Biswas
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000818:Animals; D057506:Arthropod Antennae / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D006110:Grasshoppers; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000378:metabolism; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D006046:Gold