Efficient bioactive delivery of aerosolized drugs to pulmonary cells at the air-liquid interface: Validation of the ALICE-CLOUD technology

Introduction: A major bottleneck for testing drugs for inhalation therapy is the lack of realistic and simple to operate in vitro systems. Here we present an easy-to-use in vitro system (ALICE-CLOUD) for efficient delivery of aerosolized aqueous drugs to lung epithelial cells cultured under realistic air-liquid interface (ALI) conditions. Methods: The ALICE-CLOUD utilizes the principles of cloud motion for fast and efficient droplet-to-cell delivery. The drug delivery performance of the ALICE-CLOUD was evaluated with a photometric assay using fluorescein as surrogate drug. The ALICE-CLOUD was functionally valida…