Physicochemical Evaluation of Micellar Solution and Lyotropic Phases Formed by Self-Assembled Aggregates of Morpholinium Geminis

Biological and Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Arginine-Rich Peptide Gemini Surfactants with Lysine and Cystine Spacers

Ultrashort cationic lipopeptides (USCLs) and gemini cationic surfactants are classes of potent antimicrobials. Our recent study has shown that the branching and shortening of the fatty acids chains with the simultaneous addition of a hydrophobic N-terminal amino acid in USCLs result in compounds with enhanced selectivity. Here, this approach was introduced into arginine-rich gemini cationic surfactants. l-cystine diamide and l-lysine amide linkers were used as spacers. Antimicrobial activity against planktonic and biofilm cultures of ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp.) strains and Candida sp. as well as hemolytic and cytotoxic activities were examined. Moreover, antimicrobial activity in the presence of human serum and the ability to form micelles were evaluated. Membrane permeabilization study, serum stability assay, and molecular dynamics were performed. Generally, critical aggregation concentration was linearly correlated with hydrophobicity. Gemini surfactants were more active than the parent USCLs, and they turned out to be selective antimicrobial agents with relatively low hemolytic and cytotoxic activities. Geminis with the l-cystine diamide spacer seem to be less cytotoxic than their l-lysine amide counterparts, but they exhibited lower antibiofilm and antimicrobial activities in serum. In some cases, geminis with branched fatty acid chains and N-terminal hydrophobic amino acid resides exhibited enhanced selectivity to pathogens over human cells.

Nanodrug Delivery Systems for the Treatment of Ovarian Cancer

Despite advances achieved in medicine, chemotherapeutics still has detrimental side effects with ovarian cancer (OC), accounting for numerous deaths among females. The provision of safe, early detection and active treatment of OC remains a challenge, in spite of improvements in new antineoplastic discovery. Nanosystems have shown remarkable progress with impact in diagnosis and chemotherapy of various cancers, due to their ideal size; improved drug encapsulation within its interior core; potential to minimize drug degradation; improve in vivo drug release kinetics; and prolong blood circulation times. However, nanodrug delivery systems have few limitations regarding its accuracy of tumour targeting and the ability to provide sustained drug release. Hence, a cogent and strategic approach has focused on nanosystem functionalization with antibody-based ligands to selectively enhance cellular uptake of antineoplastics. Antibody functionalized nanosystems are (advanced) synthetic candidates, with a broad range of efficiency in specific tumour targeting, whilst leaving normal cells unaffected. This article comprehensively reviews the present status of nanosystems, with particular emphasis on nanomicelles for molecular diagnosis and treatment of OC. In addition, biomarkers of nanosystems provide important prospects as chemotherapeutic strategies to upsurge the survival rate of patients with OC.

Characterization of the micelle structure of oleic acid-based gemini surfactants: effect of stereochemistry

In this study, we synthesize a novel oleic acid-based gemini surfactant with carboxylate headgroups, and study the effect of stereochemistry (anti- vs. syn-) on self-aggregation properties in water.

Aggregation behaviour of biocompatible choline carboxylate ionic liquids and their interactions with biomolecules through experimental and theoretical investigations

The self-assembly of long-chain choline carboxylates accompanied by their interaction with BSA protein were investigated with focus on environmental sustainability.