# Controlled Photochemical Release of Nitric Oxide for Biomedical Applications

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2021 · $449,268

## Abstract

ABSTRACT: Therapeutic use of gas phase nitric oxide (NO) has several important applications in medicine. In
addition to its well-known vasodilator action, NO is a potent and endogenous antimicrobial agent normally
present at moderate levels (200-1000 ppbv) in the airways/sinuses of healthy individuals, which helps preventing
chronic upper airway and lung infections. Since its first medical application >20 years ago, inhaled nitric oxide
(iNO) has become a mainstay of intensive care for lung failure patients and it is essential in neonatology, lung
transplantation, and pulmonary hypertension. It is also used in pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome
(ARDS), and potentially to treat of pulmonary tuberculosis and malaria. With the widespread hospital use of iNO
there is a great potential for use of iNO also in the home for treating chronic pulmonary infections related to
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, ca. 11.5 million cases in US) and chronic rhino sinusitis (CRS,
ca. 31 million cases in US). Further, while cases of cystic fibrosis (CF) is less common (ca. 30,000 cases), CF
patients possess a genetic defect that greatly reduces NO levels liberated by airway epithelial cells, resulting in
very high risk of infection. However, iNO therapy is presently exceedingly expensive (>$3,000 per day) owing
to costly NO cylinders and the associated instability of NO in such gas tanks. Therefore, current NO delivery
technology is both too expensive and non-portable for potential routine use for in-home care.
Using funding from an exploratory R21 grant, our research team has developed a completely new and very
attractive method for light-activated NO generation directly from solid phase S-nitrosothiols (RSNO) type NO
donors. We have demonstrated that light-activated feedback-controlled release of NO can be achieved precisely
from RSNO loaded polymer films combined with variable LED lighting. An amperometric NO selective sensor
can provide signals for a feedback circuit to control the LED light intensity to achieve a target level of NO in the
output air (or O2) stream. We have identified the main parameters affecting the efficiency of NO release from
such films and for minimizing the emitted levels of toxic NO2 gas. In this R01 grant our team will further study
the possibilities of scaling up the light-activated NO generation system. We will test the purity of the generated
NO gas and the composition of the residual solid decomposition products in order to determine light triggered
reaction mechanism of the NO release from the solid state RSNO species. We will study the antimicrobial and
cytotoxic properties of the generated NO gas on bacteria infected human epithelial cells and in CFTR knockout
mice. This new photochemical gas phase NO generation approach will be very attractive and much lower in cost
than using current iNO delivery systems employing high pressure gas tanks. Indeed, photochemically generated
NO could eventually be safely exte...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10186743
- **Project number:** 5R01EB028775-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** STEVEN P. SCHWENDEMAN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $449,268
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-06-15 → 2024-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10186743

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10186743, Controlled Photochemical Release of Nitric Oxide for Biomedical Applications (5R01EB028775-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10186743. Licensed CC0.

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