Physicochemical characterization of natural-like branched-chain glycosides toward formation of hexosomes and vesicles

Formulating plant-based hexosomes for the sustained delivery of food proteins

Hexosomes (HEXs) are nanoparticles formed by dispersing a lipid reverse hexagonal phase in water. Although they have attracted a great interest in the development of delivery systems, few lipids have been employed in their production. Galactolipids, especially monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG), are the main lipid constituents of plants and can be obtained from vegetal biomass, making them good candidates for the obtention of HEXs. In this work, the aqueous phase behavior of MGDG from sweet potato leaves was investigated and the resulting hexagonal phase was downsized into HEXs with the aid of stabilizer decaglycerol monooleate (DGMO), a food-grade emulsifier from vegetable oils. The nanoparticles presented enhanced long-term colloidal stability in different storage conditions and their inner liquid crystalline structure could be tuned by the amount of DGMO employed. Moreover, by adding sodium oleate (NaO) HEXs displayed enhanced loading efficiency of lysozyme, an edible protein with biological properties. Finally, the sustained release of incorporated protein could be finely tuned by changing HEXs composition. Collectively, the results demonstrate, for the first time, the viability of producing biobased, renewable sourced galactolipid hexosomes with potential applications in the development of functional foods, also contributing to a sustainable management of biomass waste.

Synthesis of a branched surfactant from the castor derivative and its surface properties

A new class of ricinoleic acid-derived branched surfactant with a Y-shaped structure (ethoxylated monohydroxy stearic acid methyl ester, 12-HMEE_n) was synthesized and characterized by introducing a polyoxyethylene head group in the hydroxyl position inside the molecule. The physicochemical properties and surface activities of 12-HMEE_n with different degrees of ethoxylation at various concentrations were studied. The typical Y-shaped structure of the molecule facilitates its adsorption at the interface, which provides an excellent surface activity and affects its surfactant properties significantly. The dynamic contact angle, wettability, foaming properties, and compatibility tests of 12-HMEE_n showed that it has good wetting performance, low foaming and fast defoaming properties, and good compatibility in formulation applications, indicating that the surfactant has potential application in industrial cleaning.

Solid lipid nanoparticles and nanoemulsions with solid shell: Physical and thermal stability

HYPOTHESIS

Nanoemulsions (NE) and solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) used for drug delivery should have a solid shell to be stable during long shelf life and become liquid at human body temperature. The core components of lipid nanoparticles can be partially incorporated into the shell and affect the physical and thermal stability.

EXPERIMENTS

We prepared NE and SLN by the phase inversion temperature (PIT) method. Solidification of the surfactants Tween60 and Span 60 on the surface of NE droplets with paraffin oil resulted in the formation of the solid shell. SLN contained stearic acid in the core and the same surfactants in the solid shell. The size, structure and stability of the NE and SLN were studied by DLS and cryo-TEM. Their crystallization and melting were analyzed using DSC.

FINDINGS

The lipid nanoparticles were resistant to aggregation and sedimentation and hold up to at least two cycles of heating to 50-60 °C and subsequent cooling to 5 °C, even though the upper temperatures were higher than the melting point of the surfactant shell. The expected liquid core/solid shell morphology of NE was confirmed. SLN were composed of a semi-liquid core of supercooled stearic acid melt and coated with a solid surfactant shell, so they can be treated as NE. Stearic acid molecules penetrated the shell, leading to an increase in its melting point.

Dry Thermotropic Glycolipid Self-Assembly:A Review

Also recognized as carbohydrate liquid crystals, glycolipids are amphiphiles whose basic unit comprises of a sugar group attached to an alkyl chain. Glycolipids are amphitropic, which means these materials form liquid crystal self-assemblies when dry (thermotropic) as well as when dissolved in solvents (lyotropic/surfactants) such as water. Many glycolipids are also naturally derived since these can be found in cell membranes. Their membrane and surfactant functions are largely understood through their lyotropic properties. While glycolipids are expected to play major roles as eco-friendly surfactants in the global surfactant market, their usefulness as thermotropic liquid crystal material is, to date, unknown, due to relatively lack of research performed and data reported in the literature. Understandably since glycolipids are hygroscopic with many hydroxy groups, removing the last trace water is very challenging. In recent time, with careful lyophilization and more consistent characterization technique, some researchers have attempted serious studies into "dry" or anhydrous glycolipids. Motivated by possible developments of novel thermotropic applications, some results from these studies also provide surprising new understanding to support conventional wisdom of the lyotropic systems. Here we review the dry state of glycosides, a family of glycolipids whose sugar headgroup is linked to the lipid chain via a glycosidic oxygen linker. The structure property relationship of both linear and anhydrous Guerbet glycosides will be examined. In particular, how the variation of sugar stereochemistry (e.g. anomer vs. epimer), the chain length and chain branching affect the formation of thermotropic liquid crystals phases, which not only located under equilibrium but also far from equilibrium conditions (glassy phase) are scrutinized. The dry glycolipid assembly has been subjected to electric and magnetic fields and the results show interesting behaviors including a possible transient current generation.

Comparative study of the inverse versus normal bicontinuous cubic phases of the β-d-glucopyranoside water-driven self-assemblies using fluorescent probes

This work investigates the head group region of the inverse and normal bicontinuous cubic phases (Ia3d space group) of the glucopyranoside/water system using 2-(2′-hydroxyphenyl)benzoxazole and its derivatives as fluorescent probes.

Majid WH, Zannoni C, Hashim R. Molecular dynamics of anhydrous glycolipid self-assembly in lamellar and hexagonal phases

The molecular dynamics of a synthetic branched chain glycolipid, 2-decyl-tetradecyl-β-d-maltoside (C_14-10G₂), in smectic and columnar liquid crystal phases.

Formation of bilayer membrane and niosomes by double-tailed polyglyceryl-type nonionic surfactant

Vesicles with synthetic nonionic surfactants are called niosomes or NSVs, and these have been the focus of attention as an alternative to phospholipid liposomes as drug carriers. Especially it is demanded to discover novel niosomal systems with polyol-type nonionic surfactants from the viewpoint of environmental aspects. In this paper, a novel series of double-tailed nonionic surfactants, polyglyceryl dialkyl ethers, (C12)2Gn (n = 2.3, 5.4, 9.4, and 13.8), was synthesized, and its aqueous phase behavior and niosome formation were studied. Because of its double-tailed molecular structure, a lamellar liquid crystalline phase was dominant in the binary phase diagrams for different polyglyceryl chain lengths. The single lamellar liquid crystalline phase region was expanded as the polymerization degree in the hydrophilic moiety increased. Small-angle X-ray scattering spectra revealed the lamellar structure for the (C12)2G2.3 was extremely loose. Molecular packing in the lamellar phase was analyzed except for the (C12)2G2.3 system by using a geometrical model of the lamellar phase. The effective cross-sectional area per molecule at the interface increased extensively as dilution for the (C12)2G13.8 system but remained almost unchanged for the (C12)2G5.4 system. From the molecular parameters, water-holding ability in the lamellar phase was evaluated, and the results indicated strong hydration ability of the long polyglyceryl chain. In a dilute region, micron-sized giant niosomes and small niosomes of about 100 nm were formulated by vortex mixing and ultrasonication, respectively. The multilamellar structure of the small niosomes was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Cholesterol addition in the present surfactant lamellar phase induced the phase transition to the liquid ordered phase, which is the same phenomenon in a phospholipid-cholesterol mixture. The stability of niosomes with/without cholesterol was monitored by the niosome size change. In both cases, the niosomes were stable for at least 100 days.

Alkyl mono- and di-glucoside sugar vesicles as potential drug delivery vehicles: detecting drug release using fluorescence

This work evaluates and compares alkyl mono- and di-glucoside sugar vesicles as potential delivery vehicles for small hydrophilic compounds.

Conformational dynamics of dry lamellar crystals of sugar based lipids: an atomistic simulation study

The rational design of a glycolipid application (e.g. drug delivery) with a tailored property depends on the detailed understanding of its structure and dynamics. Because of the complexity of sugar stereochemistry, we have undertaken a simulation study on the conformational dynamics of a set of synthetic glycosides with different sugar groups and chain design, namely dodecyl β-maltoside, dodecyl β-cellobioside, dodecyl β-isomaltoside and a C12C10 branched β-maltoside under anhydrous conditions. We examined the chain structure in detail, including the chain packing, gauche/trans conformations and chain tilting. In addition, we also investigated the rotational dynamics of the headgroup and alkyl chains. Monoalkylated glycosides possess a small amount of gauche conformers (∼20%) in the hydrophobic region of the lamellar crystal (LC) phase. In contrast, the branched chain glycolipid in the fluid Lα phase has a high gauche population of up to ∼40%. Rotational diffusion analysis reveals that the carbons closest to the headgroup have the highest correlation times. Furthermore, its value depends on sugar type, where the rotational dynamics of an isomaltose was found to be 11-15% and more restrained near the sugar, possibly due to the chain disorder and partial inter-digitation compared to the other monoalkylated lipids. Intriguingly, the present simulation demonstrates the chain from the branched glycolipid bilayer has the ability to enter into the hydrophilic region. This interesting feature of the anhydrous glycolipid bilayer simulation appears to arise from a combination of lipid crowding and the amphoteric nature of the sugar headgroups.

Amphiphilic designer nano-carriers for controlled release: from drug delivery to diagnostics

Our review highlights lipid liquid crystal nanocarriers, essentially their design considerations and sugar-based materials for specific targeted delivery.