Preparation and in vitro antiproliferative effect of tocotrienol loaded lipid nanoparticles

The primary objective of this study was to prepare nanostructured lipid carriers loaded with tocotrienol-rich-fraction of palm oil (TRF-NLCs) and to evaluate their antiproliferative effects against neoplastic +SA mammary epithelial cells. This necessitated optimizing the ultrasonic homogenization process parameters and the surfactant to lipid ratio within the NLCs. Therefore, sonication time and pulsar rate were initially evaluated for their effect on the size and polydispersity of the nanoparticles using a full factorial design. Also, varying the surfactant to lipid ratio from 0.25:1 to 3:1 was evaluated for its effect on the same responses. Optimal nanoparticles were obtained when dispersions containing a surfactant to lipid ratio of 0.5:1, with a total lipid concentration of 0.25 (w/v), were sonicated at 60% pulsar rate for 10 min. These parameters were subsequently used to prepare TRF-NLCs. TRF was loaded into the nanoparticles by substituting 10% (TRF-10-NLC) or 50% (TRF-50-NLC) of the lipid phase with TRF. In an extended stability study, no significant change in particle size of the TRF-NLCs was observed over 6 months of storage. In the cell culture studies, TRF-NLCs were shown to exhibit potent antiproliferative effect against neoplastic +SA mammary epithelial cells. The IC₅₀ values of TRF-10-NLCs were 2-fold lower than the IC₅₀ value of the reference TRF/BSA solution. In contrast, TRF-50-NLCs had comparable IC₅₀ values as the TRF/BSA solution, which signified the importance of TRF encapsulation within NLCs on their activity. Furthermore, these findings suggested that TRF-NLCs may have potential value in the treatment of breast cancer.     

Chitosan nanoparticle as protein delivery carrier--systematic examination of fabrication conditions for efficient loading and release

Chitosan nanoparticles fabricated via different preparation protocols have been in recent years widely studied as carriers for therapeutic proteins and genes with varying degree of effectiveness and drawbacks. This work seeks to further explore the polyionic coacervation fabrication process, and associated processing conditions under which protein encapsulation and subsequent release can be systematically and predictably manipulated so as to obtain desired effectiveness. BSA was used as a model protein which was encapsulated by either incorporation or incubation method, using the polyanion tripolyphosphate (TPP) as the coacervation crosslink agent to form chitosan-BSA-TPP nanoparticles. The BSA-loaded chitosan-TPP nanoparticles were characterized for particle size, morphology, zeta potential, BSA encapsulation efficiency, and subsequent release kinetics, which were found predominantly dependent on the factors of chitosan molecular weight, chitosan concentration, BSA loading concentration, and chitosan/TPP mass ratio. The BSA loaded nanoparticles prepared under varying conditions were in the size range of 200-580nm, and exhibit a high positive zeta potential. Detailed sequential time frame TEM imaging of morphological change of the BSA loaded particles showed a swelling and particle degradation process. Initial burst released due to surface protein desorption and diffusion from sublayers did not relate directly to change of particle size and shape, which was eminently apparent only after 6h. It is also notable that later stage particle degradation and disintegration did not yield a substantial follow-on release, as the remaining protein molecules, with adaptable 3-D conformation, could be tightly bound and entangled with the cationic chitosan chains. In general, this study demonstrated that the polyionic coacervation process for fabricating protein loaded chitosan nanoparticles offers simple preparation conditions and a clear processing window for manipulation of physiochemical properties of the nanoparticles (e.g., size and surface charge), which can be conditioned to exert control over protein encapsulation efficiency and subsequent release profile. The weakness of the chitosan nanoparticle system lies typically with difficulties in controlling initial burst effect in releasing large quantities of protein molecules.     

Encapsulation of L-dopa and catechol in bovine serum albumin nanocarrier using desolvation method and their in vitro release studies

In the current study, the interaction between L-dopa and bovine serum albumin (BSA) as well as catechol and BSA is investigated separately. In order to achieve the optimum values for encapsulated efficiency (EE), the content of crosslinker/BSA, organic/aqueous phase, drug/BSA, stirring rate, and pH were closely studied taking the advantage of Taguchi method. Particle characterization was carried out using transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering techniques. The most appropriate catechol and L-dopa nanoparticles in the size range of 100 nm and 65 nm, respectively, and at optimized conditions of drug/BSA = 0.1, pH = 7.4, crosslinker/BSA = 0.084, organic/aqueous phase = 4 and stirring rate 400 rpm were obtained. The most favorable EE (encapsulation efficiency) and LC (loading capacity) for L-dopa and catechol was estimated to be 88.1% and 83.6%, respectively, and the calculated LC% was achieved 93.4% and 89.7% for L-dopa and catechol, respectively. The chromatographic analyses results were also found to be in a good agreement with the obtained data for the calculated EE% and LC% values. in vitro release of loaded drugs from nanoparticles in phosphate-buffered saline (pH = 7.4, incubated at 37 ± 0.5°C under stirring rate of 100 rpm) showed the release of 78% catechol and 89% L-dopa during 480 min and 510 min, respectively.     

Dendrimer modified magnetite nanoparticles for protein immobilization

A cascading polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer was synthesized on the surface of magnetite nanoparticles to allow enhanced immobilization of bovine serum albumin (BSA). Characterization of the synthesis revealed exponential doubling of the surface amine from generations one through four starting with an amino silane initiator. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed clear dispersion of the dendrimer-modified magnetite nanoparticles in methanol solution. The dendrimer-modified magnetite nanoparticles were used to carry out magnetic immobilization of BSA. BSA immobilizing efficiency increased with increasing generation from one to five and BSA binding amount of magnetite nanoparticles modified with G5 dendrimer was 7.7 times as much as that of magnetite nanoparticles modified with only aminosilane. There are two major factors that improve the BSA binding capacity of dendrimer-modified magnetite nanoparticles: one is that the increased surface amine can be conjugated to BSA by a chemical bond through glutaraldehyde; the other is that the available area has increased due to the repulsion of surface positive charge.     

Preparation and Characterization of a Novel Drug Delivery System: Biodegradable Nanoparticles in Thermosensitive Chitosan/Gelatin Blend Hydrogels

A novel injectable in situ gelling drug delivery system (DDS) consisting of biodegradable N-(2-hydroxyl) propyl-3-trimethyl ammonium chitosan chloride (HTCC) nanoparticles and thermosensitive chitosan/gelatin blend hydrogels was developed for prolonged and sustained controlled drug release. Four different HTCC nanoparticles, prepared based on ionic process of HTCC and oppositely charged molecules such as sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium alginate and carboxymethyl chitosan, were incorporated physically into thermosensitive chitosan/gelatin blend solutions to form the novel DDSs. Resulting DDSs interior morphology was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. The effect of nanoparticles composition on both the gel process and the gel strength was investigated from which possible hydrogel formation mechanisms were inferred. Finally, bovine serum albumin (BSA), used as a model protein drug, was loaded into four different HTCC nanoparticles to examine and compare the effects of controlled release of these novel DDSs. The results showed that BSA could be sustained and released from these novel DDSs and the release rate was affected by the properties of nanoparticle: the slower BSA release rate was observed from DDS containing nanoparticles with a positive charge than with a negative charge. The described injectable drug delivery systems might have great potential application for local and sustained delivery of protein drugs.     

Loading of gold nanoparticles inside the DPPC bilayers of liposome and their effects on membrane fluidities

Gold nanoparticles were loaded in the bilayer of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) liposomes, named as gold-loaded liposomes. Above the gel to liquid-crystalline phase transition temperature, membrane fluidities of DPPC liposomes were changed by loading the gold nanoparticles. Compared with liposomes without loading the gold nanoparticles, gold-loaded liposomes showed the lower fluorescence anisotropy values. That is, the membrane fluidities of DPPC bilayer were increased by loading the gold nanoparticles. The membrane fluidities were increased as the amount of gold nanoparticles increased. The existence of gold nanoparticles in the DPPC bilayer was observed by transmission electron microscopy. Through the energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, the particles in DPPC bilayer were confirmed to be gold nanoparticles.     

荧光光谱法研究纳米硫化锌与牛血清白蛋白的相互作用

采用水相法合成了ZnS纳米颗粒,通过XRD及TEM技术对纳米ZnS进行了表征,结果表明纳米ZnS的粒径约为7～8 nm.利用荧光光谱考察了纳米ZnS与牛血清白蛋白(BSA)的相互作用,结果显示,两者的相互作用可导致BSA内源荧光猝灭,推测其猝灭机理为静态猝灭,结合常数Ka=1.73×105 L·mol-1,结合位点数n...     

Effects of lysozyme and bovine serum albumin on membrane characteristics of dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol liposomes

The effects of adsorption of two kinds of proteins on the membrane characteristics of liposomes were examined at pH 7.4 in terms of adsorption amounts of proteins on liposomes, penetrations of proteins into liposomal bilayer membranes, phase transition temperature, microviscosity and permeability of liposomal bilayer membranes, using positively charged lysozyme (LSZ) and negatively charged bovine serum albumin (BSA) as proteins and negatively charged L-alpha-dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol (DPPG) liposomes. The saturated adsorption amount of LSZ was 720 g per mol of liposomal DPPG, while that of BSA was 44 g per mol of liposomal DPPG. The penetration of LSZ into DPPG lipid membranes was greater than that of BSA. The microviscosity in the hydrophobic region of liposomal bilayer membranes increased due to adsorption (penetration) of LSZ or BSA, while the permeability of liposomal bilayer membranes increased. The gel-liquid crystalline phase transition temperature of liposomal bilayer membranes was not affected by adsorption of LSZ or BSA, while the DSC peak area (heat of phase transition) decreased with increasing adsorption amount of LSZ or BSA. It is suggested that boundary DPPG makes no contribution to the phase transition and that boundary DPPG and bulk DPPG are in the phase-separated state, thereby increasing the permeability of liposomal bilayer membranes through adsorption of LSZ or BSA. A possible schematic model for the adsorption of LSZ or BSA on DPPG liposomes was proposed.     

Insulin-Loaded SLN Prepared with the Emulsion Dilution Technique: In Vivo Tracking of Nanoparticles after Oral Administration to Rats

Insulin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) were prepared according to a solvent dilution method from O/W emulsions using isovaleric acid as organic phase. Insulin was derivatized with fluorescein isothyocianate (FITC) obtaining a fluorescent marker to be used in in vivo experiments. FITC-insulin and native insulin–loaded SLN were quite similar with regard to their mean sizes and encapsulation efficiency. SLN intestinal uptake was then investigated administering FITC-insulin loaded SLN on healthy male Wistar rats. Significant drug accumulation within intestinal lymphatic system was recovered, but the immune system seems to play an important role in SLN degradation: further studies are necessary to improve the results on blood glucose level.     

葡聚糖分子量和接枝度对阿霉素/白蛋白-葡聚糖纳米粒子体外抗肿瘤效果的影响

以Maillard反应制备的牛血清白蛋白-葡聚糖共价接枝物作为载体, 通过调节混合溶液的pH值和温度制备负载阿霉素的白蛋白-葡聚糖纳米粒子. 利用分子量为5×10³, 10×10³和62×10³的葡聚糖制备了多种共价接枝物, 研究了共价接枝物分子量对载药纳米粒子的粒径和稳定性及载药量的影响. 用短链葡聚糖(分子量5×10³和10×10³)制备的纳米粒子粒径为60 nm左右, 用长链葡聚糖(分子量62×10³)制备的纳米粒子粒径约为200 nm; 阿霉素的包埋效率为81%~98%, 包埋量为7.4%~16.9%. 细胞实验结果表明, 共价接枝物具有很好的生物相容性; 与自由阿霉素相比, 纳米粒子可以促进阿霉素进入人口腔上皮癌细胞; 受缓释性质的影响, 纳米粒子在低浓度时的细胞毒性要小于自由阿霉素. 与长链葡聚糖纳米粒子相比, 接枝度高的短链葡聚糖纳米粒子由于具有较小的粒径、 密集的葡聚糖分子刷表面、 一定的自由阿霉素浓度和较快的阿霉素释放速率, 因而更容易进入细胞并具有更好的体外抗肿瘤活性.     

Polysaccharide-modified iron oxide nanoparticles as an effective magnetic affinity adsorbent for bovine serum albumin

The magnetic separation technique based on magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MNPs) has potential applications in protein adsorption and purification, enzyme immobilization, cell sorting, nucleic acid detachment, and drug release. However, the naked MNPs are often insufficient for their hydrophilicity, colloidal stability, and further functionalization. To overcome these limitations, chitosan was firstly carboxymethylated and then covalently conjugated on the surface of the MNPs ranging in size from about 5 to 15 nm, which were prepared by co-precipitating iron (II) and iron (III) in alkaline solution and then treating under hydrothermal conditions. It was found that such modification did not result in the phase change of the MNPs, and the resultant modified nanoparticles were still superparamagnetic. In particular, the colloidal stability of MNPs in aqueous suspension was improved after the surface modification. By investigating the adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on the modified MNPs, it was observed that the adsorption capacity of the BSA on the modified MNPs increased rapidly within several minutes and then reached the maximum value at about 10 min. The adsorption equilibrium isotherm could be fitted well by the Langmuir model. The medium pH affected greatly the adsorption of the BSA. The maximum adsorption of the BSA occurred at the pH value close to the isoelectric point of the BSA, with a saturation adsorption amount of 94.45 mg/g (25 °C). For the BSA feed concentration of 1.017 mg/ml, a high desorption percentage of 91.5% could be achieved under an alkaline condition (pH 9.4).     

Analysis of spherical polyelectrolyte brushes by small angle X-ray scattering

Spherical polyelectrolyte brushes （SPBs） with PS core and poly（acrylic acid） （PAA） brushes were prepared and analyzed by SAXS in this article. A radial electron density profile of SPB was brought up, which fits well with the SAXS result and shows a core-shell structure. The effect of pH on SPB form was represented by SAXS and it proves that the chains of SPB will stretch in response to increased pH owning to the increased electrostatic repulsion. SPBs immobilized with magnetic nanoparticles or bovine serum albumin （BSA） were prepared and analyzed by SAXS as well. SAXS could characterize the changes of electron density inside brushes of SPBs due to the immobilization of magnetic nanoparticles or BSA. This provides significant supports for further application of immobilized metal nanoparticles or proteins.     

Fluorescence quenching of bovine serum albumin.

The fluorescence emission spectra and 3D fluorescence spectra of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) reversed micelles were affected by the microenvironment. Blue shifts of the fluorescence emission peaks were found when BSA was present in CTAB reversed micelles. The fluorescence intensity changed with the water content. Similar changes in the peak regions of the 3D fluorescence spectra were also observed. CdS nanoparticles prepared in CTAB reversed micelles quenched the fluorescence of BSA significantly. The fluorescence of BSA was more effectively quenched by negative CdS nanoparticles than by positive or neutral CdS ones. The quenching degree increased linearly with increasing the concentration of negative CdS nanoparticles over the range of 5.0 x 10(-6) - 3.0 x 10(-5) mol L(-1). The quenching mechanism is discussed and the quenching constant is 1.32 x 10(4) L mol(-1).     

Coordination bonding based pH-responsive albumin nanoparticles for anticancer drug delivery

Zn-loaded bovine serum albumin nanoparticles (Zn-BSA nanoparticles) were prepared and used as carriers for pH-responsive anticancer drug delivery. Zinc was introduced into this system to increase the stability of the BSA nanoparticles and to load the anticancer drug based on the coordination bonding formation of Zn-BSA and Zn-drug molecules, respectively. The cleavage of either the "Zn-BSA" or the "Zn-drug" coordination bonding, in response to pH, would result in the release of the drug under designated pH conditions. The nanoparticles were spherical with diameters of 50-60 nm and narrow size distribution. Mitoxantrone (MX) was chosen as the model drug to study the release behavior and the inhibitory efficacy against tumor cells. In vitro release behavior of MX loaded Zn-BSA nanoparticles (MX-Zn-BSA nanoparticles) showed a fine pH-responsiveness. The release amount at pH 5.0 was close to 80%, while the cumulative release amount at pH 7.4 was less than 6% within 24 h. The blank Zn-BSA nanoparticles were of low cytotoxicity, while a high cytotoxic activity of MX-Zn-BSA nanoparticles against MCF-7 cells was demonstrated by in vitro cell assays.     

A NOVEL METAL CHELATE AFFINITY ADSORBENT FOR PROTEIN UPTAKE

1. INTRODUCTION Chitosan is a hydrolyzed derivative of chitin and belongs to a family of linear unbranched polysaccharides which contain large amounts of 1,4-linked-2-amino-2-deoxy-β-D-glucan residues. The presence of free amine groups in chitosan enhances the solubility and reactivity of this polymer. Interest in modifying chitosan by using glutaraldehyde has recently increased. The derivatized polymers have been employed for many applications [1~2], including protein immobilization…     

Effects of degree of substitution on stearic acid-modified Bletilla striata polysaccharides nanoparticles and interactions between nanoparticles and bovine serum albumin

A stearic acid-modified Bletilla striata polysaccharides nanoparticle was fabricated. The effects of degree of substitution on its characteristic properties, the interactions of nanoparticles with bovine serum albumin and cell toxicity were assessed.     

Pure Protein Scaffolds from Pickering High Internal Phase Emulsion Template

The formation of hierarchical porous protein scaffolds from oil‐in‐water (o/w) high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) stabilized by bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein nanoparticles (Pickering HIPE) is reported. The route consists of three principal steps. First, a stable o/w HIPE stabilized by BSA protein nanoparticles is formulated. Next, crosslinking the dispersed protein nanoparticles gives rise to a gel in the continuous water phase to freeze the emulsion's microstructure. Finally, removal of the oil components and water directly leads to a three dimensional, bimodal meso‐macroporous protein scaffold, which is suitable for a wide range of biomedical applications.     

Effects of silver nanoparticles on the fluidity of bilayer in phospholipid liposome

This paper describes the formation and characterization of liposome entrapping the silver nanoparticles in bilayer. Silver nanoparticles were entrapped in the bilayer of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) liposome, named as silver-loaded liposome. Specifically, above the gel to liquid-crystalline phase transition temperature of this lipid (i.e., 41 degrees C), it was observed that membrane fluidities of silver-loaded liposomes were increased, and fluorescence anisotropy values were reduced from 0.114 to 0.097. This might be due to the structural modifications and interactions between DPPC molecules and silver nanoparticles within the bilayer. It was also confirmed that silver nanoparticles were entrapped in hydrophobic region of lipid bilayer with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) measurements.     

水溶性CdSe/CdS量子点的合成及其与牛血清蛋白的共轭作用

用巯基乙酸(TGA)作为稳定剂，合成了水溶性的CdSe和核壳结构的CdSe/CdS半导体量子点。吸收光谱和荧光光谱研究表明，核壳结构的CdSe/CdS半导体量子点比单一的CdSe量子点具有更优异的发光特性。用TEM、电子衍射(ED)和XPS分别表征了CdSe和CdSe/CdS纳米微粒的结构、形貌及分散性。红外光谱和核磁共振谱证实了巯基乙酸分子中的硫原子和氧原子与纳米微粒表面的金属离子发生了配位作用。在pH值为7.4的条件下，将合成的CdSe和CdSe/CdS量子点直接与牛血清白蛋白(BSA)相互作用。实验发现，两种量子点均对BSA的荧光产生较强的静态猝灭作用；而BSA对两种量子点的荧光则具有显著的荧光增敏作用，存在BSA时CdSe/CdS量子点的荧光增强是不存在BSA时体系荧光强度的3倍。     

A NOVEL METAL CHELATE AFFINITY ADSORBENT FOR PROTEIN UPTAKE

In this article,a spherical chitosan gel crosslinked by epichlorohydrin was prepared.It was then loaded with copper ions to produce a metal chelate affinity adsorbent for protein.The uptake of bovine serum albumin(BSA)by the affinity adsorbent was investigated.and the adsorption capacity for BSA as high as 40mg/g-wet beads was observed.The adsorption equilibrium data was well correlated by the Langmuir equation.The adsorption was considerably affected by pH.In additio.The amount of BSA adsorbed onto the beads decreased with the increasing of aqueous phase ionic strength,so adsorbed BAS can be desorbed by adjusting pH orionic strength of the solution.