As an emerging research direction, nanomedicine has been increasingly utilized to treat inflammatory diseases. In this head-to-head comparison study, four established nanomedicine formulations of dexamethasone, including liposomes (L-Dex), core-cross-linked micelles (M-Dex), slow releasing polymeric prodrugs (P-Dex-slow), and fast releasing polymeric prodrugs (P-Dex-fast), were evaluated in an adjuvant-induced arthritis rat model with an equivalent dose treatment design. It was found that after a single i.v. injection, the formulations with the slower drug release kinetics (i.e., M-Dex and P-Dex-slow) maintained longer duration of therapeutic activity than those with relatively faster drug release kinetics, resulting in better joint protection. This finding will be instructional in the future development and optimization of nanomedicines for the clinical management of rheumatoid arthritis. The outcome of this study also illustrates the value of such head-to-head comparison studies in translational nanomedicine research.

Cristal Delivery B 5 Oxfordlaan 55 6229 EV Maastricht

Department Internal Medicine Division of Rheumatology University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha NE 68198

Department of Experimental Molecular Imaging University Clinic and Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering RWTH Aachen University Pauwelsstrasse 30 52074 Aachen

Department of Pathology and Microbiology University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha Nebraska 68198

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha Nebraska 68198

Department of Pharmaceutics Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences Utrecht University Universiteitsweg 99 3584 CG Utrecht

Department of Targeted Therapeutics MIRA Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine University of Twente PO Box 217 7500 AE Enschede

Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry AS CR v v i Heyrovského nám 2 162 06 Prague 6

Omaha VA Medical Center 4101 Woolworth Avenue Omaha

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