Therapeutics for Lung Diseases Delivered Intranasally by Gold Nanoparticles

Technology Overview

Dr. Rhea Coler

Tuberculosis (TB), which is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, kills an estimated 1.23 million people a year globally. In the United States, approximately 13 million people live with inactive TB, which if left untreated, can progress to active TB and spread to others.

Infections by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) also seriously threaten health, especially for people who have chronic lung conditions or weakened immune systems. Both of these bacterial infections primarily affect the lungs, causing prolonged illness with coughing, chest pain and fatigue. In the United States, the rate of NTM infections is higher than the rate of tuberculosis infections. The treatment for both diseases is a long regimen of multiple antibiotics and other drugs taken systemically. Medication adherence is challenging and incomplete treatment contributes to drug resistance.

Infectious disease specialist Rhea Coler, PhD, develops targeted strategies for more efficient delivery of vaccines and therapies for tuberculosis and NTM diseases. Her novel approaches — using engineered, aerosolized gold nanoparticles to deliver intranasal, inhaled vaccines and drugs — could also transform care for cystic fibrosis and other lung diseases.

Gold nanoparticles for vaccine and drug delivery

The Coler Lab developed a customizable platform for delivering vaccines and other therapeutics to the lungs using aerosolized gold nanoparticles. The nanoparticles are small enough to deliver antibiotics and other therapeutic molecules intracellularly to lung macrophages, where pathogenic mycobacteria reside. Gold nanoparticles are stable and biocompatible, with high safety and tolerability profiles.

In the Coler Lab, Postdoctoral Scientist Hazem Abdelaal, PhD, leads the optimization of these nanoparticles by fine-tuning their size, shape, surface charge and composition for optimal interaction with bacterially infected lung macrophages. Preclinical studies using mouse models show that inhaled or systemically delivered nanoparticles reach their intended target tissues and safely deliver antibiotics (e.g., bedaquiline, clofazimine) and other drugs used against multidrug-resistant tuberculosis mycobacteria. The research team is also exploring nanoparticles for delivering tuberculosis vaccines directly to the lungs to activate a more potent immune response in the lung mucosa.

Dr. Coler and team developed mouse models that closely mimic human mycobacterial disease and response to treatment. The Coler Lab works with clinical isolates of mycobacteria that reflect real-world conditions. The research team has also developed mouse models of Mycobacteroides abscessus diseases, which are drug-resistant NTM infections that are particularly challenging to treat.

GCLP capabilities

Dr. Coler’s research team is trained in Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP) standards and in high-throughput assays for testing small molecule, antibody- and T cell-based therapies. As a member of the Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium (IDCRC) from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the Coler Lab performed blood processing, immune response testing and data analysis for the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine trials, specializing in quantifying peripheral, adaptive and humoral immune responses.

For lung diseases, the Coler Lab can evaluate direct outcomes such as the bacterial burden in lungs and spleen and the mucosal response using bronchial lavage fluid, as well as viral burden using nasal swabs. The lab is equipped to work with industry partners on therapeutic formulations for infectious diseases, from development through testing and scaling for manufacturing.

Dr. Coler has experience leading and collaborating with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Her research has led to patents, start-up companies, and development of clinical products. She has extensive experience in human clinical trials including protocol design, Investigational New Drug (IND) applications, case report form creation, data management, trial monitoring, quality assurance, and close-out and report writing. The Coler Lab has expertise in research with human specimens, particularly efficient quality management systems. Dr. Coler is interested in partnerships to advance vaccines and therapeutics, and mechanisms for their delivery for lung conditions, particularly tuberculosis and NTM diseases.  

Stage of Development

• Preclinical in vitro
• Preclinical in vivo

Partnering Opportunities

• Sponsored research agreement
• Collaborative research opportunity
• Consultation agreement
• Licensing agreement
• Contracted service or research agreement
• High-throughput assays

Learn More

• Rhea Coler, PhD
• Coler Lab
• Coler Lab nontuberculous mycobacteria research
• Coler Lab bacteriophage therapy research

Publications

1. Atmar RL, Lyke KE, Posavad CM … Coler RN, et al. Mucosal and systemic antibody responses after boosting with a bivalent messenger RNA severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccine. J Infect Dis. 2025;232(4):971-981.
2. Abdelaal HFM, Berube BJ, Podell BK … Coler RN. Assessment of tuberculosis drug efficacy using preclinical animal models and in vitro predictive techniques. NPJ Antimicrob Resist. 2024;2(1):49.
3. Larsen S, Williams BD, Pecor T … Coler RN. Mucosal BCG delivery provides a spectrum of protection from different Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains across susceptible and resistant mouse backgrounds. Front Tuberc. 2024;2:1417939.
4. Larsen SE, Erasmus JH, Reese VA … Coler RN. An RNA-based vaccine platform for use against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Vaccines. 2023;11(1):130.
5. Jackson LA, Anderson EJ, Rouphael NG … Coler RN, et al. An mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 — preliminary report. N Engl J Med. 2020;383(20):1920-1931.
6. Ali HR, Ali MR, Wu Y … Abdelaal HF, et al. Gold nanorods as drug delivery vehicles for rifampicin greatly improve the efficacy of combating Mycobacterium tuberculosis with good biocompatibility with the host cells. Bioconjug Chem. 2016;27(10):2486-2492.

Last updated March 2026