Biocompatible Polyelectrolyte Complex Nanoparticles from Lactoferrin and Pectin as Potential Vehicles for Antioxidative Curcumin

Renewable Polysaccharides Micro/Nanostructures for Food and Cosmetic Applications

The worldwide diffusion of nanotechnologies into products nowadays has completely revolutionized human life, providing novel comfort and benefits. Their inclusion in food and cosmetic has a heavy impact over the market, allowing the development of higher value products with enhanced properties. Natural origin polymers and in particular polysaccharides represent a versatile platform of materials for the development of micro/nanostructured additives for food and cosmetic products due to their chemical versatility, biocompatibility, and abundance. Here, we review the current applications of polysaccharides-based micro/nanostructures, taking into consideration the precursors' production, isolation, and extraction methods and highlighting the advantages, possible drawbacks, and market diffusion.

Lactoferrin, a multi-functional glycoprotein: Active therapeutic, drug nanocarrier & targeting ligand

Recent progress in protein-based nanomedicine, inspired by the success of Abraxane® albumin-paclitaxel nanoparticles, have resulted in novel therapeutics used for treatment of challenging diseases like cancer and viral infections. However, absence of specific drug targeting, poor pharmacokinetics, premature drug release, and off-target toxicity are still formidable challenges in the clinic. Therefore, alternative protein-based nanomedicines were developed to overcome those challenges. In this regard, lactoferrin (Lf), a glycoprotein of transferrin family, offers a promising biodegradable well tolerated material that could be exploited both as an active therapeutic and drug nanocarrier. This review highlights the major pharmacological actions of Lf including anti-cancer, antiviral, and immunomodulatory actions. Delivery technologies of Lf to improve its pries and enhance its efficacy were also reviewed. Moreover, different nano-engineering strategies used for fabrication of drug-loaded Lf nanocarriers were discussed. In addition, the use of Lf for functionalization of drug nanocarriers with emphasis on tumor-targeted drug delivery was illustrated. Besides its wide application in oncology nano-therapeutics, we discussed the recent advances of Lf-based nanocarriers as efficient platforms for delivery of anti-parkinsonian, anti-Alzheimer, anti-viral drugs, immunomodulatory and bone engineering applications.

Structures, fabrication mechanisms, and emulsifying properties of self-assembled and spray-dried ternary complexes based on lactoferrin, oat β-glucan and curcumin: A comparison study

Protein-polyphenol-polysaccharide non-covalent ternary complexes possess many unique structural and functional properties. However, rare work is available to fabricate the neutral polysaccharide-based ternary complexes. Herein, the ternary complexes composed of lactoferrin (LF), oat β-glucan (OG), and curcumin (Cur) with three binding sequences were successfully developed through self-assembly technique and spray drying technique, respectively. Spray drying could enhance the extent of the intermolecular associations among LF, OG, and Cur, leading to the formation of ternary complexes with smaller particle sizes and lower turbidities. Cur can be loaded in LF-OG complexes to form an amorphous complex through the intermolecular interactions (mainly hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonding). The ternary complexes can be used as potential emulsifiers to stabilize oil-in-water Pickering emulsions. The emulsifying capacity (to enhance physical stability) of the complexes was in the order as follows: the spray-dried ternary complexes > the spray-dried LF-OG complexes > the self-assembled ternary complexes > the self-assembled LF-OG complexes. The structural and functional properties (e.g., emulsifying property) of OG-based ternary complexes can be controlled by adjusting the binding sequences. These results will broaden our current understanding of protein-polyphenol-polysaccharide ternary complexes and provide more applications of OG in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries.

α-Lactalbumin and chitosan core–shell nanoparticles: resveratrol loading, protection, and antioxidant activity

Resveratrol (RES)-loaded protein–polysaccharide nanoparticles were fabricated through simple electrostatic interactions with oppositely charged α-lactalbumin (ALA) and chitosan (CHI) with a mass ratio of 5 : 1 without the addition of NaCl at pH 6.5.

Pectin-decorated selenium nanoparticles as a nanocarrier of curcumin to achieve enhanced physicochemical and biological properties

In this study, the authors developed pectin-stabilised selenium nanoparticles (pectin-SeNPs) for curcumin (Cur) encapsulation and evaluated their physicochemical properties and biological activities. Results showed that pectin-SeNPs and Cur-loaded pectin-SeNPs (pectin-SeNPs@Cur) exhibited monodisperse and homogeneous spherical structures in aqueous solutions with mean particle sizes of ∼61 and ∼119 nm, respectively. Cur was successfully encapsulated into pectin-SeNPs through hydrogen bonding interactions with an encapsulation efficiency of ∼60.6%, a loading content of ∼7.4%, and a pH-dependent and controlled drug release in vitro. After encapsulation was completed, pectin-SeNPs@Cur showed enhanced water solubility (∼500-fold), dispersibility, and storage stability compared with those of free Cur. Moreover, pectin-SeNPs@Cur possessed significant free radical scavenging ability and antioxidant capacity in vitro, which were stronger than those of pectin-SeNPs. Antitumour activity assay in vitro demonstrated that pectin-SeNPs@Cur could inhibit the growth of HepG2 cells in a concentration-dependent manner, and the nanocarrier pectin-SeNPs exhibited a low cytotoxic activity against HepG2 cells. Therefore, the results suggested that pectin-SeNPs could function as effective nanovectors for the enhancement of the water solubility, stability, and in vitro bioactivities of hydrophobic Cur.

Comparison of structural and physicochemical properties of lysozyme/carboxymethylcellulose complexes and microgels

Proteins and polysaccharides can be used to assemble colloidal delivery systems suitable for industrial applications, such as functional foods, supplements, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products. The purpose of this work was to compare the physicochemical and structural properties of colloidal delivery systems prepared from lysozyme and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) at different biopolymer ratios, pH values, and salt levels. Specifically, the performance of unheated ("complexes") and heated ("microgels") lysozyme-CMC systems were compared. Isothermal turbidity-pH titrations indicated that the critical pH value for complex formation was lower for microgels than for complexes. Complexes were prone to dissociation when the pH or ionic strength was altered due to weakening of electrostatic interactions between the CMC and lysozyme. Conversely, microgels remained intact when the pH or ionic strength was altered, exhibiting swelling or shrinkage rather than dissociation. These results have important implications for the selection of the most appropriate protein/polysaccharide systems to achieve specific functional requirements. Complexes may be more suitable for pH- or salt-based triggered release whereas microgels may be more suitable for sustained release.

Bioavailability of nanotechnology-based bioactives and nutraceuticals

Bioaccessibility and bioavailability of some hydrophobic bioactives (e.g., carotenoids, polyphenols, fat-soluble vitamins, phytosterols and fatty acids) are limited due to their low water solubility, and in some instances low chemical stability. Nanotechnology involving nanometric (r<500nm) delivery systems, can be used to improve the solubility and thus enhance the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of hydrophobic compounds. Nanometric delivery systems, derived from food grade phospholipids and biopolymers adopt many forms, including liposomes, micelles, micro/nanoemulsions, particles, polyelectrolyte complexes, and hydrogels. The small particle sizes and customized materials used to create delivery systems confer their unique properties such as higher stability and/or resistance to enzymatic activity in the gastrointestinal tract. This chapter provides an overview of bioaccessibility and bioavailability of different classes of hydrophobic bioactive compounds, focusing on nanometric delivery systems and methods of evaluation.

A comprehensive perspective of food nanomaterials

Nanotechnology is a rapidly developing toolbox that provides solutions to numerous challenges in the food industry and meet public demands for healthier and safer food products. The diversity of nanostructures and their vast, tunable functionality drives their inclusion in food products and packaging materials to improve their nutritional quality through bioactive fortification and probiotics encapsulation, enhance their safety due to their antimicrobial and sensing capabilities and confer novel sensorial properties. In this food nanotechnology state-of-the-art communication, matrix materials with particular focus on food-grade components, existing and novel production techniques, and current and potential applications in the fields of food quality, safety and preservation, nutrient bioaccessibility and digestibility will be detailed. Additionally, a thorough analysis of potential strategies to assess the safety of these novel nanostructures is presented.

Self-Assembled Reduced Albumin and Glycol Chitosan Nanoparticles for Paclitaxel Delivery

Cancer continues to pose health problems for people all over the world. Nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged as a promising platform for effective cancer chemotherapy. NPs formed by the assembly of proteins and chitosan (CH) through noncovalent interactions are attracting a great deal of interest. However, the poor water solubility of CH and low stability of this kind of NP limit its practical application. Herein, the formation of reduced bovine serum albumin (rBSA) and glycol chitosan (GC) nanoparticles (rBG-NPs) stabilized by hydrophobic interactions and disulfide bonds was demonstrated for paclitaxel (PTX) delivery. The effects of the rBSA:GC mass ratio and pH on the particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), number of particles, and surface charge were evaluated. The formation mechanism and stability of the NPs were determined by compositional analysis and dynamic light scattering. Hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions were the driving forces for the formation of the rBG-NPs, and the NPs were stable under physiological conditions. PTX was successfully encapsulated into rBG-NPs with a high encapsulation efficiency (∼90%). PTX-loaded rBG-NPs had a particle size of ∼400 nm with a low PDI (0.2) and positive charge. rBG-NPs could be internalized by HeLa cells, possibly via endocytosis. An in vitro cytotoxicity study revealed that PTX-loaded rBG-NPs had anticancer activity that was lower than that of a Taxol-like formulation at 24 h but had similar activity at 48 h, possibly because of the slow release of PTX into the cells. Our study suggests that rBG-NPs could be used as a potential nanocarrier for hydrophobic drugs.

Development of Nanocomplexes for Curcumin Vehiculization Using Ovalbumin and Sodium Alginate as Building Blocks: Improved Stability, Bioaccessibility, and Antioxidant Activity

Type I (Complex I) and type II nanocomplexes (Complex II) were created in this work for curcumin (Cur) delivery using ovalbumin (OVA, 1.0% w/w) and sodium alginate (ALG, 0.5% w/w) as building blocks. OVA was heated at 90 °C for 5 min at pH 7.0 and then coated with ALG at pH 4.2 to produce Complex I; OVA-ALG electrostatic complex was created at pH 4.0, which was treated at 90 °C for 5 min thereafter yielding Complex II. Complex I presented an irregular elliptical shape with a diameter of ∼250 nm, whereas Complex II adopted a defined spherical structure of a smaller size (∼200 nm). Complex II did not dissociate at the pH range of 5-7, which was different from Complex I. Cur was loaded into the nonpolar matrix of nanocomplexes through hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions, and Complex II displayed a higher loading capacity than Complex I. Nanocomplexes were resistant to pepsinolysis during simulated gastrointestinal digestion, which enhanced the stability and controlled release of loaded Cur, thereby improving Cur bioaccessibility from ∼20% (free form) to ∼60%. Additionally, nanocomplexes contributed to the cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) of Cur by promoting its cellular uptake. The CAA of Cur was also better preserved in nanocomplexes especially in Complex II after digestion owing to the increased stability and bioaccessibility. Results from this work highlighted the effect of nanocomplex encapsulation on the performance of Cur and revealed the critical role of preparation method in the physicochemical attributes of nanocomplexes.

One-step assembly of zein/caseinate/alginate nanoparticles for encapsulation and improved bioaccessibility of propolis

Propolis loaded zein/caseinate/alginate nanoparticles were fabricated using a facile one-step procedure without using organic solvents and sophisticated equipment.

Preservation of Cichoric Acid Antioxidant Properties Loaded in Heat Treated Lactoferrin Nanoparticles

In the current research, a new cichoric acid (CA) encapsulation system was investigated. The optimal condition for the formation of lactoferrin-cichoric acid nanoparticles (LF-CA NPs) was determined by controlling the solution pH, the thermal treatment conditions, and the concentration of CA. Fluorescence indicated that the electrostatic force and the hydrophobic force were the main forces in the formation of LF-CA NPs. LF-CA NPs prepared under different conditions were spherical in shape with smaller particle sizes and good zeta potential demonstrating good colloidal stability. Especially, the prepared particle size of the LF-CA NPs at pH 7 and 95 °C was about 67.20 ± 1.86 nm. The circular dichroism (CD) and the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results showed that the combination of LF (lactoferrin) and CA affected the secondary structure of the LF. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results indicated that the addition of CA increased the thermal stability of LF. In vitro antioxidant experiments confirmed the antioxidant capacity of LF-CA NPs was better than CA. CA was successfully encapsulated into LF NPs with high encapsulated efficiency (97.87⁻99.87%) by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). These results showed that LF could be used as the wall material of CA with excellent nature.

Enhancement of Curcumin Bioavailability by Encapsulation in Sophorolipid-Coated Nanoparticles: An in Vitro and in Vivo Study

There is great interest in developing colloidal delivery systems to enhance the water solubility and oral bioavailability of curcumin, which is a hydrophobic nutraceutical claimed to have several health benefits. In this study, a natural emulsifier was used to form sophorolipid-coated curcumin nanoparticles. The curcumin was loaded into sophorolipid micelles using a pH-driven mechanism based on the decrease in curcumin solubility at lower pH values. The sophorolipid-coated curcumin nanoparticles formed using this mechanism were relatively small (61 nm) and negatively charged (-41 mV). The nanoparticles also had a relatively high encapsulation efficiency (82%) and loading capacity (14%) for curcumin, which was present in an amorphous state. Both in vitro and in vivo studies showed that the curcumin nanoparticles had an appreciably higher bioavailability than that of free curcumin crystals (2.7-3.6-fold), which was mainly attributed to their higher bioaccessibility. These results may facilitate the development of natural colloidal systems that enhance the oral bioavailability and bioactivity of curcumin in food, dietary supplements, and pharmaceutical products.