A Comparison of the Pharmacokinetics and Pulmonary Lymphatic Exposure of a Generation 4 PEGylated Dendrimer Following Intravenous and Aerosol Administration to Rats and Sheep

Purpose: Cancer metastasis to pulmonary lymph nodes dictates the need to deliver chemotherapeutic and diagnostic agents to the lung and associated lymph nodes. Drug conjugation to dendrimer-based delivery systems has the potential to reduce toxicity, enhance lung retention and promote lymphatic distribution in rats. The current study therefore evaluated the pharmacokinetics and lung lymphatic exposure of a PEGylated dendrimer following inhaled administration. Methods: Plasma pharmacokinetics and disposition of a 22 kDa PEGylated dendrimer were compared after aerosol administration to rats and sheep. Lung-derived lymph could not be sampled in rats and so lymphatic transport of the dendrimer from the lung was assessed in sheep. Results: Higher plasma concentrations were achieved when dendrimer was administered to the lungs of rats as a liquid instillation when compared to an aerosol. Plasma pharmacokinetics were similar between sheep and rats, although some differences in disposition patterns were evident. Unexpectedly, less than 0.5% of the aerosol dose was recovered in pulmonary lymph. Conclusions: The data suggest that rats provide a relevant model for assessing the pharmacokinetics of inhaled macromolecules prior to evaluation in larger animals, but that the pulmonary lymphatics are unlikely to play a major role in the absorption of nanocarriers from the lungs.