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van Heijst N, Whiting P, Dutcher JR. Solubilization of Hydrophobic Astaxanthin in Water by Physical Association with Phytoglycogen Nanoparticles. Biomacromolecules 2024; 25:4110-4117. [PMID: 38917433 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.4c00214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Abstract
Astaxanthin (AXT) is a xanthophyll carotenoid with reported health benefits. Realizing its potential as a bioactive is challenging because of its extremely poor solubility in water. We describe a method to improve the effective solubility of AXT in water through its physical association with phytoglycogen (PG), which is produced in sweet corn as compact, highly branched nanoparticles. We combine PG in water with AXT in acetone, evaporate the acetone, and lyophilize. The result is an AXT-PG complex that can be readily redispersed in water, resulting in stable aqueous dispersions. By characterizing the UV-vis absorbance due to different aggregation states of AXT in the AXT-PG complex, we determined the maximum loading of AXT onto PG to be ∼10% by mass. Our results demonstrate the promise of using PG as a solubilizing agent for hydrophobic compounds in water.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Phil Whiting
- Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - John R Dutcher
- Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
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2
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Tegopoulos SN, Papagiannopoulos A, Kyritsis A. Hydration effects on thermal transitions and molecular mobility in Xanthan gum polysaccharides. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:3462-3473. [PMID: 38205826 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp04643e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
In this work, the xanthan gum (XG) polysaccharide is studied over a wide range of temperatures and water fractions 0 ≤ hw ≤ 0.70 (on a wet basis) by employing differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS). The investigation reveals that the critical water fraction for ice formation is about 0.35. Glass transition temperature (Tg) was determined through calorimetry experiments for all the samples studied. Water acts as a strong plasticizer, i.e., decreasing Tg, for water fractions up to about 0.35. A secondary (local) relaxation process is recorded in both dry and hydrated samples, which is sensitive to the presence of water molecules. This fact indicates that this process originates due to the orientation of small polar groups of the side chain, or/and due to the local main chain dynamics. Two types of long-range charge transport processes were resolved. The first is related to the conductive paths being formed via bulk-like ice structures (at high hydration levels), whereas the second can be attributed to proton mobility via the hydrogen bond (HB) network of non-freezing water existing in XG. Interestingly, this process is exactly the same in all the hydrated samples with hw > 0.25. With respect to the sample with hw = 0.27, a Vogel-Tammann-Fulcher (VTF)-like polarization process has also been recorded which seems to be related to long-range charge mobility via interconnected water clusters. As far as we are aware, this is the first time that XG is studied in terms of glass transition and molecular mobility over a wide range of hydration levels combining DSC and BDS techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sokratis N Tegopoulos
- Physics Department, National Technical University of Athens, Iroon Polytechneiou 9, Zografou Campus, Athens, 15780, Greece.
| | - Aristeidis Papagiannopoulos
- Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 48 Vassileos Constantinou Avenue, 11635, Athens, Greece
| | - Apostolos Kyritsis
- Physics Department, National Technical University of Athens, Iroon Polytechneiou 9, Zografou Campus, Athens, 15780, Greece.
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Kämäräinen T, Kadota K, Tse JY, Uchiyama H, Oguchi T, Arima-Osonoi H, Tozuka Y. Tuning the Phytoglycogen Size and Aggregate Structure with Solvent Quality: Influence of Water-Ethanol Mixtures Revealed by X-ray and Light Scattering Techniques. Biomacromolecules 2023; 24:225-237. [PMID: 36484419 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.2c01093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Phytoglycogen (PG) is a hyperbranched polysaccharide with promising properties for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. Herein, we explore the size and structure of sweet corn PG nanoparticles and their aggregation in water-ethanol mixtures up to the ethanol mole fraction xEtOH = 0.364 in dilute concentrations using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements. Between 0 ≤ xEtOH ≤ 0.129, the conformation of PG contracts gradually decreasing up to ca. 80% in hydrodynamic volume, when measured shortly after ethanol addition. For equilibrated PG dispersions, SAXS suggests a lower PG volume decrease between 19 and 67% at the corresponding xEtOH range; however, the inflection point of the DLS volume contraction coincides with the onset of reduced colloidal stability observed with SAXS. Up to xEtOH = 0.201, the water-ethanol mixtures yield labile fractal and globular aggregates, as evidenced by their partial breakup under mild ultrasonic treatment, demonstrated by the decrease in their hydrodynamic size. Between 0.235 ≤ xEtOH ≤ 0.364, PG nanoparticles form larger, more cohesive globular aggregates that are less affected by ultrasonic shear forces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tero Kämäräinen
- Department of Formulation Design and Pharmaceutical Technology, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 4-20-1 Nasahara, Takatsuki, Osaka569-1094, Japan
| | - Kazunori Kadota
- Department of Formulation Design and Pharmaceutical Technology, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 4-20-1 Nasahara, Takatsuki, Osaka569-1094, Japan
| | - Jun Y Tse
- Department of Formulation Design and Pharmaceutical Technology, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 4-20-1 Nasahara, Takatsuki, Osaka569-1094, Japan
| | - Hiromasa Uchiyama
- Department of Formulation Design and Pharmaceutical Technology, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 4-20-1 Nasahara, Takatsuki, Osaka569-1094, Japan
| | - Toshio Oguchi
- Graduate School of Medicine, University of Yamanashi, 1110 Shimokato, Chuo, Yamanashi409-3898, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Arima-Osonoi
- Neutron Science and Technology Center, Comprehensive Research Organization for Science and Society, Tokai, Ibaraki319-1106, Japan
| | - Yuichi Tozuka
- Department of Formulation Design and Pharmaceutical Technology, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 4-20-1 Nasahara, Takatsuki, Osaka569-1094, Japan
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Sustainable and hydrophobic polysaccharide-based mulch film with thermally stable and ultraviolet resistance performance. Carbohydr Polym 2022; 295:119865. [DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 06/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Charlesworth K, van Heijst N, Maxwell A, Baylis B, Grossutti M, Leitch JJ, Dutcher JR. Binding Affinity of Concanavalin A to Native and Acid-Hydrolyzed Phytoglycogen Nanoparticles. Biomacromolecules 2022; 23:4778-4785. [PMID: 36252236 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.2c00951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Phytoglycogen (PG) is a polysaccharide produced in the kernels of sweet corn as soft, highly branched, compact nanoparticles. Its tree-like or dendritic architecture, combined with a high-safety profile, makes PG nanoparticles attractive for use in biological applications, many of which rely on the association or binding of small biomolecules. We have developed a methodology to functionalize surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor surfaces with PG nanoparticles, and we demonstrate the utility of the PG-functionalized SPR sensor by measuring the binding affinity of the tetrameric concanavalin A (ConA) protein to both native PG nanoparticles and smaller, softer acid-hydrolyzed PG nanoparticles. We measure comparable values of the equilibrium association constant K for native and acid-hydrolyzed PG, with a slightly smaller value for the acid-hydrolyzed particles that we attribute to unfavorable lateral interactions between the tetrameric subunits of ConA due to the increase in surface curvature of the smaller acid-hydrolyzed PG particles. We also use infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) to show that ConA maintains a large fraction of its native conformation, and thus its bioactivity, upon binding to PG, representing an important step toward the realization of PG as a novel bioactive delivery vehicle.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Aidan Maxwell
- Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaN1G 2W1
| | - Benjamin Baylis
- Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaN1G 2W1
| | - Michael Grossutti
- Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaN1G 2W1
| | - J Jay Leitch
- Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaN1G 2W1
| | - John R Dutcher
- Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaN1G 2W1
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Sanchez-Ballester NM, Trens P, Rossi JC, Soulairol I. Alginate ester: New moisture-scavenging excipients for direct compressible pharmaceutical tableting. Carbohydr Polym 2022; 297:120063. [DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.120063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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Cohen Y, Cohen G, Tworowski D, Eretz-Kdosha N, Silberstein E, Fallik E, Poverenov E. Biocompatible nanocarriers for passive transdermal delivery of insulin based on self-adjusting N-alkylamidated carboxymethyl cellulose polysaccharides. NANOSCALE ADVANCES 2022; 4:2124-2133. [PMID: 36133443 PMCID: PMC9419864 DOI: 10.1039/d2na00005a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we present biocompatible nanocarriers based on modified polysaccharides capable of transporting insulin macromolecules through human skin without any auxiliary techniques. N-Alkylamidated carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) derivatives CMC-6 and CMC-12 were synthesized and characterized using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography and thermogravimetric, calorimetric and microscopic techniques. The prepared modified polysaccharides spontaneously assemble into soft nanoaggregates capable of adjusting to both aqueous and lipid environments. Due to this remarkable self-adjustment ability, CMC-6 and CMC-12 were examined for transdermal delivery of insulin. First, a significant increase in the amount of insulin present in lipid media upon encapsulation in CMC-12 was observed in vitro. Then, ex vivo studies on human skin were conducted. Those studies revealed that the CMC-12 carrier led to an enhancement of transdermal insulin delivery, showing a remarkable 85% insulin permeation. Finally, toxicity studies revealed no alteration in epidermal viability upon treatment and the absence of any skin irritation or amplified cytokine release, verifying the safety of the prepared carriers. Three-dimensional (3D) molecular modeling and conformational dynamics of CMC-6 and CMC-12 polymer chains explained their binding capacities and the ability to transport insulin macromolecules. The presented carriers have the potential to become a biocompatible, safe and feasible platform for the design of effective systems for transdermal delivery of bioactive macromolecules in medicine and cosmetics. In addition, transdermal insulin delivery reduces the pain and infection risk in comparison to injections, which may increase the compliance and glycemic control of diabetic patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yael Cohen
- Agro-Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Center, Institute of Postharvest and Food Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Institute Rishon LeZion 7505101 Israel +972-39683354
- The Robert H Smith, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Institute of Biochemistry, Food and Nutrition, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Rehovot 76100 Israel
| | - Guy Cohen
- The Skin Research Institute, Dead Sea & Arava Science Center Masada 86910 Israel
- Eilat Campus, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Eilat 8855630 Israel
| | - Dmitry Tworowski
- Department of Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science 76100 Rehovot Israel
| | - Noy Eretz-Kdosha
- The Skin Research Institute, Dead Sea & Arava Science Center Masada 86910 Israel
| | - Eldad Silberstein
- Department of Plastic Surgery, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Beer-Sheva Israel
| | - Elazar Fallik
- Agro-Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Center, Institute of Postharvest and Food Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Institute Rishon LeZion 7505101 Israel +972-39683354
| | - Elena Poverenov
- Agro-Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Center, Institute of Postharvest and Food Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Institute Rishon LeZion 7505101 Israel +972-39683354
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Shamana H, Dutcher JR. Transition in the Glassy Dynamics of Melts of Acid-Hydrolyzed Phytoglycogen Nanoparticles. Biomacromolecules 2022; 23:2040-2050. [PMID: 35390260 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.2c00046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The deformability, responsiveness, and tunability of soft nanoparticles (NPs) offer unique opportunities to learn about their complex properties and the interactions between particles. In the present study, we provide new insights into the physical properties of phytoglycogen (PG) NPs, which are soft, compact particles with a dendritic architecture that are produced in the kernels of sweet corn. In particular, we study PG NPs modified using acid hydrolysis, which not only reduces their diameter but also alters their stiffness, internal structure, and the interactions between particles in aqueous dispersions. We used steady shear rheology to determine the dependence of the relative zero-shear viscosity ηr of aqueous dispersions of acid-hydrolyzed PG NPs on the effective volume fraction ϕeff, which indicated a reduction in stiffness of the particles relative to that of native PG NPs. We quantified this difference by analyzing the nature of the colloidal glasses formed at high ϕeff. We measured a smaller value of the fragility index m for acid-hydrolyzed PG NP glasses than that for native PG NP glasses, indicating that acid-hydrolyzed PG NPs form stronger glasses and are therefore softer than native PG NPs. Unlike the native PG NPs, we observed a distinctive change in the character of the glass transition of the acid-hydrolyzed PG NPs as ϕeff was increased above ϕeff∼1: a crossover in the dependence of ηr on ϕeff from Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann behavior to a more gradual, Arrhenius-like behavior. By expressing the steady shear and oscillatory rheology data in terms of generalized Péclet numbers, we obtained collapse of the data onto master curves. We interpret this result in terms of the acid-hydrolyzed PG NPs predominantly interpenetrating neighboring particles at large ϕeff, for which fluctuations of the outer chains enhance the mobility of the particles and make α-relaxation times τα experimentally accessible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hurmiz Shamana
- Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - John R Dutcher
- Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
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Relationships between Molecular Structure of Carbohydrates and Their Dynamic Hydration Shells Revealed by Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms222111969. [PMID: 34769399 PMCID: PMC8584907 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222111969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite more than a century of research on the hydration of biomolecules, the hydration of carbohydrates is insufficiently studied. An approach to studying dynamic hydration shells of carbohydrates in aqueous solutions based on terahertz time-domain spectroscopy assay is developed in the current work. Monosaccharides (glucose, galactose, galacturonic acid) and polysaccharides (dextran, amylopectin, polygalacturonic acid) solutions were studied. The contribution of the dissolved carbohydrates was subtracted from the measured dielectric permittivities of aqueous solutions based on the corresponding effective medium models. The obtained dielectric permittivities of the water phase were used to calculate the parameters describing intermolecular relaxation and oscillatory processes in water. It is established that all of the analyzed carbohydrates lead to the increase of the binding degree of water. Hydration shells of monosaccharides are characterized by elevated numbers of hydrogen bonds and their mean energies compared to undisturbed water, as well as by elevated numbers and the lifetime of free water molecules. The axial orientation of the OH(4) group of sugar facilitates a wider distribution of hydrogen bond energies in hydration shells compared to equatorial orientation. The presence of the carboxylic group affects water structure significantly. The hydration of polysaccharides is less apparent than that of monosaccharides, and it depends on the type of glycosidic bonds.
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Baylis B, Shelton E, Grossutti M, Dutcher JR. Force Spectroscopy Mapping of the Effect of Hydration on the Stiffness and Deformability of Phytoglycogen Nanoparticles. Biomacromolecules 2021; 22:2985-2995. [PMID: 34085822 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.1c00399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Phytoglycogen is a naturally occurring glucose polymer that is produced by sweet corn in the form of compact nanoparticles with a dendritic or tree-like architecture. The soft and porous nature of the nanoparticles, combined with their biodegradability and lack of toxicity, makes them ideal for a broad range of applications in personal care, nutrition, and biomedicine. To fully exploit these applications, it is necessary to understand the complex properties of the soft, hydrated nanoparticles in detail. In the present study, we have used atomic force microscopy (AFM) force spectroscopy to collect high-resolution force-distance maps of a large number of individual phytoglycogen nanoparticles, providing unique insights into the morphology and mechanical stiffness of the nanoparticles at the single-particle level. Our measurements performed in water on nanoparticles covalently bonded to gold surfaces revealed an inner branched structure and high deformability of the nanoparticles at modest values of the applied force. These measurements also allowed us to determine the spatial distribution of Young's modulus values within individual nanoparticles. Drying of the nanoparticles resulted in a dramatic increase in Young's modulus, quantifying the effect of hydration on their mechanical stiffness. We obtained excellent agreement between AFM and osmotic pressure measurements of the mechanical properties of hydrated phytoglycogen nanoparticles; the ratio of the average Young's modulus measured using AFM to the bulk modulus measured using osmotic pressure was in close agreement with that expected for a material with Poisson's ratio ν = 0. The soft, deformable nature of phytoglycogen nanoparticles revealed by our measurements provides new insights at the single-nanoparticle level and suggests their suitability for biomedical applications such as transdermal and targeted drug delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Baylis
- Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph N1G 2W1, Ontario, Canada
| | - Erin Shelton
- Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph N1G 2W1, Ontario, Canada
| | - Michael Grossutti
- Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph N1G 2W1, Ontario, Canada
| | - John R Dutcher
- Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph N1G 2W1, Ontario, Canada
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