Controlling the binding of hydrophobic drugs with supramolecular assemblies of β-cyclodextrin

Cyclodextrin Encapsulated pH Sensitive Dyes as Fluorescent Cellular Probes: Self-Aggregation and In Vitro Assessments

We have designed and synthesized a series of novel, supramolecular, long-lived fluorescent probes based on the host-guest inclusion complexes formation between fluorescent indolizinyl-pyridinium salts and β-cyclodextrin. Fluorescence and electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry experiments, supported by theoretical molecular docking studies, were utilized in the monitoring of the inclusion complexes formation, evidencing the appearance of corresponding 1:1 and 1:2 species. Additionally, the influence of the guest molecule over the aggregation processes of the cyclodextrin inclusion complexes was investigated by transmission electron microscopy. The absence of cytotoxicity, cellular permeability, long-lived intracellular fluorescence, and in time specific accumulation within acidic organelles identified the investigated supramolecular entities as remarkable candidates for intracellular fluorescence probes. Co-staining experiments using specific organelle markers revealed the fact that, after a 24-h incubation period, the inclusion complexes accumulate predominantly in lysosomes rather than in mitochondria. This study opens new possibilities for a broad range of fluorescent dyes with solubility and high toxicity issues, able to form inclusion complexes with β-cyclodextrin, to be tested as intracellular fluorescence probes.

Synthesis of Gelatin-Based Dual-Targeted Nanoparticles of Betulinic Acid for Antitumor Therapy

Betulinic acid (BA) is a natural antitumor agent and has biological activity against multiple human tumor cell lines with low cytotoxicity to normal cells, while the high hydrophobicity and the short half-life of this compound limit its clinical application. Here, gelatin-based dual-targeted nanoparticles of BA are promising to solve this problem. Hydrophobic BA is loaded in cyclodextrin to increase its solubility and prolong the circulation time in vivo. The nanoscale drug delivery systems can further enhance the bioavailability and the antitumor effect of BA and are passively targeted to the tumor tissue sites by enhanced permeability and retention effect. The RGD sequence of gelatin specifically recognizes tumor cells and brings agents into tumor cells. The nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, etc. In addition, we observed antitumor activity of the nanoparticles using both cell-based assays and mouse xenograft tumors, which proved that betulinic acid/gelatin-γ-cyclodextrin nanoparticles had a better tumor inhibition effect than betulinic acid/γ-cyclodextrin inclusion compound.

Determination of three tetracyclines in bovine milk using magnetic solid phase extraction in tandem with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled with HPLC

A novel analytical method namely magnetic solid phase extraction in tandem with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction was developed and used for the extraction/preconcentration of tetracycline (TCN), oxytetracycline (OTC) and doxycycline (DC) from bovine milk sample before HPLC-UV analysis. The β-cyclodextrin functionalized silica-coated magnetic graphene oxide (Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@GO-β-CD) was used as an adsorbent. The adsorbent was fully characterized using FT-IR, SEM, EDX and Zeta potential techniques. The effective parameters on the performance of the method such as extraction solvent type and volume, adsorbent amount, desorption solvent type and volume, disperser solvent type, desorption time, ionic strength and pH value were investigated. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were obtained in the ranges of 1.8-2.9 μg L^-1 and 6.1-9.7 μg L^-1, respectively. The linearity was in the range of 10.0-200.0 μg L^-1 with satisfactory determination coefficients (R²) higher than 0.9929 and a good precision (RSD < 8.8%). The recovery percentages for the analytes in real samples (bovine milk and water) were achieved in a range from 70.6 to 121.5%.

Click Access to a Cyclodextrin-Based Spatially Confined AIE Material for Hydrogenase Recognition

The spatial confinement of conjugated phenyl rotators is a compulsory requirement for the fluorescence enhancement of aggregation induced emission (AIE) molecules. This work reports a novel spatially confined AIE material by restricting several tetraphenylethylene (TPE) molecules around the primary face of β-cyclodextrin (CD) via a Cu(I) catalytic 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction (click chemistry). The spatial confinement effect was found to significantly enhance the fluorescence emission when compared with a single TPE modified CD. In addition, the emission maxima took place with the dimethyl sulfoxide volume ratio of 30% in a water mixture, which is remarkably different from traditional AIE molecules. Benefiting from the CD’s complexation effect, this material exhibits a selective fluorescence quenching property in certain hydrogenases and can be used as a fluorescence probe for hydrogenase sensing. This demonstrates the potential of the spatially confined AIECD for practical applications.