Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel lipoamino acid-based glycolipids for oral drug delivery

The potential of surface nano-engineering in characteristics of cobalt-based nanoparticles and biointerface interaction with prokaryotic and human cells

Cobalt-based nanoparticles (CBNPs) have recently received great attention in biomedical studies; however, the possible biotoxicity of these nanoparticles (NPs) has remained a foremost concern that should be addressed. As surface functionalization is one of the helpful proposed solutions, we aimed to apply Lipoamino acids (LAAs) as a coating agent to improve biocompatibility. To this purpose, cobalt oxide, cobalt ferrite, and iron oxide nanoparticles (IONs) were synthesized with and without 2-amino-hexadecanoic acid coating to assess the impacts of LAA coating on characteristics and biocompatibility of CBNPs in human cells and compare with IONs, a widely used magnetic NPs in biomedicine. Antibacterial activities of NPs were evaluated against four Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria species to assess their biointerface interaction with prokaryotic cells. In addition, the antibacterial activities of synthesized NPs were compared to silver NPs, one of the widely used antimicrobial NPs and standard antibiotics (ampicillin). The structural characteristics properties of NPs were analyzed using TEM, FE-SEM, EDS, FTIR, XRD, and VSM. These NPs exhibited sphere-like to polygon-like morphology with desirable mean size. CBNPs displayed dose-dependent cytotoxicity and antimicrobial activities against human cell lines and all tested microbial species, as well as more cytotoxicity and bacterial inhibition compared to IONs. Besides, the results revealed that LAA coating could significantly improve the biocompatibility and antibacterial activity of NPs while impacting magnetic properties. To sum up, it seems that surface functionalization could provide more potent tools for bioapplications with improving biocompatibility and bacterial inhibition of CBNPs, though; further studies are needed in this regard.

[Endomorphins: structure, localization, immunoregulatory activity]

Endomorphins – endogenous tetrapeptides with the highest affinity for the µ-opioid receptor. Currently, two tetrapeptides that differ in one amino acid residue have been isolated and characterized. The structure of endomorphins differs from the structure of members of three main families of opioid peptides: endorphins, enkephalins, and dynorphins, which contain the same N-terminal sequence. In the central nervous system, endomorphins are distributed everywhere, where they are primarily responsible for antinociception. Distribution of endomorphins in the immune system, similar to that of other opioid peptides, has allowed to suggest their active participation in the processes of immune regulation. This review summarizes modern views on the structure of endomorphins, their localization, possible intracellular mechanisms of signal transmission and their effects on the processes of activation, proliferation and differentiation of cells of innate and adaptive immunity. Endomorphins actively modulate the functions of the cells of the immune system. Peptides predominantly suppress adaptive immunity reactions. There effects on the functions of innate immunity cells (granulocytes, macrophages, monocytes, dendritic cells) depending on the conditions and can have either an inhibitory or stimulating orientation. Thus, endomorphins can be promising compounds that can effectively regulate both nociceptive signals and processes in the immune system.

Isothiocyanyl Alanine as a Synthetic Intermediate for the Synthesis of Thioureayl Alanines and Subsequent Aminotetrazolyl Alanines

The synthesis of unnatural amino acids with small side-chain functionalities usable for further transformations is highly demanding for the expansion of the genetic code and other possible biotechnological applications. To this end, we wanted to report the utility of an unexplored unnatural amino acid, isothiocyanyl alanine (^NCSAla = Ita), for the synthesis of another class of unnatural amino acids, thioureayl alanines (^TUAla = Tua). The synthesis of a third class of unnatural amino acids, amino tetrazolyl alanines (^ATzAla = Ata), in a very good yield was subsequently achieved utilizing thioureayl alanines. Thus, a variety of aliphatic- and aromatic-substituted thioureayl alanines and aromatic-substituted amino tetrazolyl alanines were successfully synthesized in good to excellent yields. The photophysical properties of three of the fluorescent unnatural amino acids from two classes were also studied and presented herein.

Synthesis, characterization and in vitro evaluation of amphiphilic ion pairs of erythromycin and kanamycin antibiotics with liposaccharides

The hydrophilic ion paring strategy (HIP) is a method explored to improve the cell/tissue uptake of poorly adsorbed drugs and to optimize their physico-chemical characteristics. In this context, we here describe the synthesis of some ion pairs of two model cationic antibiotics, erythromycin (ERY) and kanamycin A (KAN), with liposaccharides having different levels of lipophilicity and charge. The formation of drug-liposaccharide complexes was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis. The effect of the amphiphilic liposaccharide moieties on the antimicrobial activity of ERY and KAN was assessed by measuring the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the compounds against a panel of bacterial strains that were susceptible or resistant to the parent antibiotics. The ion pairing did not depress the in vitro antibiotic activity, although no lowering of MIC values was registered. The experimental findings would motivate the future investigation of this ion pairing strategy in drug design, for instance allowing improvement of the encapsulation efficiency of hydrophilic antibiotics in lipid-based nanocarriers, or changing their in vivo biodistribution and pharmacokinetic profile.

Impact of Environmental Stresses on Orange Oil-in-Water Emulsions Stabilized by Sucrose Monopalmitate and Lysolecithin

The food and beverage industry is trying to replace synthetic functional ingredients with more "label-friendly" ingredients in many commercial products. This study therefore examined the influence of environmental stresses on the stability of emulsions stabilized by a combination of lysolecithin and sucrose monopalmitate (SMP). Orange oil-in-water emulsions (5% (w/w) oil) stabilized by SMP (1%) and lysolecithin (0-0.5%) were prepared using high-pressure homogenization (pH 3). In the absence of lysolecithin, all emulsions were highly unstable to droplet aggregation, which was attributed to low droplet charge (weak electrostatic repulsion) and small SMP headgroup size (weak steric repulsion). Incorporation of 0.1-0.5% lysolecithin into the emulsions greatly improved their stability to droplet aggregation, which was mainly attributed to the increase in negative charge on the droplets (strong electrostatic repulsion). The addition of high levels of salt (NaCl) to the emulsions promoted droplet aggregation and creaming. Emulsions containing 0.5% lysolecithin were stable to heating (30-90 °C) in the absence of salt, but exhibited droplet aggregation and creaming when held at high (>50 °C) temperatures in the presence of 300 mM salt. This study has implications for the development of emulsion-based delivery systems for use in food and beverage products.

Bis-triazologlycolipid mimetics – low molecular weight organogelators

A facile regioselective synthesis of bis-triazologlycolipids, a class of organogelators, has been accomplished by “Click reaction”. The morphology and self-assembly of the gelators were examined by FESEM and HRTEM analysis.

Lipid- and sugar-modified endomorphins: novel targets for the treatment of neuropathic pain

Endomorphins are endogenous opioid peptides that cause potent antinociception in rodent models of acute and neuropathic pain with less undesirable side effects than opioid alkaloids. However, endomorphins are poorly suited to clinical applications because of low membrane permeability and a susceptibility to enzymatic degradation. Glycosylation and lipidation have proven to be two of the most robust approaches for the generation of new therapeutic endomorphin derivatives. Conjugation with lipoamino acids (LAA) confers an amphipathic character to the peptide, which improved interaction between the peptide and the lipid bilayer of the cell membranes, increasing permeability. Glycosylation can also improve peptide stability and blood brain barrier (BBB) transport. It is believed that an endocytotic mechanism (transcytosis) is responsible for the systemic delivery of water-soluble glycopeptides. This review discusses the application of glycosylation and lipidation strategies to improve the drug-like properties of endomorphins. Pharmacologically active endomorphin analogs with less adverse effects are also discussed.

Development of a liposaccharide-based delivery system and its application to the design of group A streptococcal vaccines

Group A streptococcus (GAS) is associated with many human diseases, ranging in severity from benign to life-threatening. A promising strategy for developing vaccines against GAS involves the use of carbohydrates as carriers for peptide antigens. This study describes the optimized synthesis of d-glucose and d-galactose derived carriers, bearing an adipate linker and four tert-butoxycarbonyl protected aminopropyl groups. Prophylactic GAS vaccine candidates were synthesized by conjugating multiple copies of a single GAS M protein derived peptide antigen (either J8 or J14) onto the carbohydrate carriers. These antigens contain peptide sequences, which are highly conserved and offer the potential to prevent infections caused by up to 70% of GAS strains. Lipophilic amino acids were also conjugated to the d-glucose anomeric carbon to produce a self-adjuvanting liposaccharide vaccine. High serum IgG antibody titers against each of the incorporated peptide epitopes were detected following subcutaneous immunization of B10.BR (H-2 (k)) mice with the liposaccharide vaccine candidates.