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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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Su C, Lin D, Huang X, Feng J, Jin A, Wang F, Lv Q, Lei L, Pan W. Developing hydrogels for gene therapy and tissue engineering. J Nanobiotechnology 2024; 22:182. [PMID: 38622684 PMCID: PMC11017488 DOI: 10.1186/s12951-024-02462-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Hydrogels are a class of highly absorbent and easily modified polymer materials suitable for use as slow-release carriers for drugs. Gene therapy is highly specific and can overcome the limitations of traditional tissue engineering techniques and has significant advantages in tissue repair. However, therapeutic genes are often affected by cellular barriers and enzyme sensitivity, and carrier loading of therapeutic genes is essential. Therapeutic gene hydrogels can well overcome these difficulties. Moreover, gene-therapeutic hydrogels have made considerable progress. This review summarizes the recent research on carrier gene hydrogels for the treatment of tissue damage through a summary of the most current research frontiers. We initially introduce the classification of hydrogels and their cross-linking methods, followed by a detailed overview of the types and modifications of therapeutic genes, a detailed discussion on the loading of therapeutic genes in hydrogels and their characterization features, a summary of the design of hydrogels for therapeutic gene release, and an overview of their applications in tissue engineering. Finally, we provide comments and look forward to the shortcomings and future directions of hydrogels for gene therapy. We hope that this article will provide researchers in related fields with more comprehensive and systematic strategies for tissue engineering repair and further promote the development of the field of hydrogels for gene therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunyu Su
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Organs and Computational Medicine in Zhejiang Province, Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, China
- The Third Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325200, China
- College of Biology & Pharmacy, Yulin Normal University, Yulin, 537000, China
| | - Dini Lin
- The Third Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325200, China
| | - Xinyu Huang
- College of Biology & Pharmacy, Yulin Normal University, Yulin, 537000, China
| | - Jiayin Feng
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Organs and Computational Medicine in Zhejiang Province, Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, China
| | - Anqi Jin
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Organs and Computational Medicine in Zhejiang Province, Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, China
| | - Fangyan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Organs and Computational Medicine in Zhejiang Province, Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, China
| | - Qizhuang Lv
- College of Biology & Pharmacy, Yulin Normal University, Yulin, 537000, China.
| | - Lanjie Lei
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Organs and Computational Medicine in Zhejiang Province, Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, China.
| | - Wenjie Pan
- The Third Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325200, China.
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Liu JJ, Hou YK, Wang X, Zhou XT, Yin JY, Nie SP. Recent advances in the biosynthesis of fungal glucan structural diversity. Carbohydr Polym 2024; 329:121782. [PMID: 38286552 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2024.121782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2023] [Revised: 12/31/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
Glucans are the most abundant class of macromolecule polymers in fungi, which are commonly found in Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Fungal glucans are not only essential for cell integrity and function but also crucial for the immense industrial interest in high value applications. They present a variety of structural characteristics at the nanoscale due to the high regulation of genes and the involvement of stochastic processes in synthesis. However, although recent findings have demonstrated the genes of glucans synthesis are relatively conserved across diverse fungi, the formation and organization of diverse glucan structures is still unclear in fungi. Here, we summarize the structural features of fungal glucans and the recent developments in the mechanisms of glucans biosynthesis. Furthermore, we propose the engineering strategies of targeted glucan synthesis and point out the remaining challenges in the synthetic process. Understanding the synthesis process of diverse glucans is necessary for tailoring high value glucan towards specific applications. This engineering strategy contributes to enable the sustainable and efficient production of glucan diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Jin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Resources, China-Canada Joint Lab of Food Science and Technology (Nanchang), Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province 330047, China
| | - Yu-Ke Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Resources, China-Canada Joint Lab of Food Science and Technology (Nanchang), Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province 330047, China
| | - Xin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Resources, China-Canada Joint Lab of Food Science and Technology (Nanchang), Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province 330047, China
| | - Xing-Tao Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Resources, China-Canada Joint Lab of Food Science and Technology (Nanchang), Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province 330047, China
| | - Jun-Yi Yin
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Resources, China-Canada Joint Lab of Food Science and Technology (Nanchang), Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province 330047, China.
| | - Shao-Ping Nie
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Resources, China-Canada Joint Lab of Food Science and Technology (Nanchang), Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province 330047, China; Food Laboratory of Zhongyuan, Luo he 462300, Henan, China.
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