Gliadin Nanoparticles Containing Doxorubicin Hydrochloride: Characterization and Cytotoxicity

Novel hybrid compounds of sclareol and doxorubicin as potential anticancer nanotherapy for glioblastoma

Two novel hybrid compounds, CON1 and CON2, have been developed by combining sclareol (SC) and doxorubicin (DOX) into a single molecular entity. These hybrid compounds have a 1:1 molar ratio of covalently linked SC and DOX. They have demonstrated promising anticancer properties, especially in glioblastoma cells, and have also shown potential in treating multidrug-resistant (MDR) cancer cells that express the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) membrane transporter. CON1 and CON2 form nanoparticles, as confirmed by Zetasizer, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and chemical modeling. TEM also showed that CON1 and CON2 can be found in glioblastoma cells, specifically in the cytoplasm, different organelles, nucleus, and nucleolus. To examine the anticancer properties, the U87 glioblastoma cell line, and its corresponding multidrug-resistant U87-TxR cell line, as well as patient-derived astrocytoma grade 3 cells (ASC), were used, while normal human lung fibroblasts were used to determine the selectivity. CON1 and CON2 exhibited better resistance and selectivity profiles than DOX, showing less cytotoxicity, as evidenced by real-time cell analysis, DNA damage determination, cell death induction, mitochondrial respiration, and mitochondrial membrane depolarization studies. Cell cycle analysis and the β-galactosidase activity assay suggested that glioblastoma cells die by senescence following CON1 treatment. Overall, CON1 and CON2 showed great potential as they have better anticancer features than DOX. They are promising candidates for additional preclinical and clinical studies on glioblastoma.

Mitigating amphotericin B cytotoxicity through gliadin-casein nanoparticles: Insights into synthesis, optimization, characterization, in vitro release and cytotoxicity evaluation

Amphotericin B (AmB) is a widely used antifungal agent; however, its clinical application is limited due to severe side effects and nephrotoxicity associated with parenteral administration. In recent years, there has been growing interest in the utilization of food-grade materials as innovative components for nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems. This study introduces gliadin/casein nanoparticles encapsulating AmB (AmB_GliCas NPs), synthesized via antisolvent precipitation. Formulation was refined using a 24 factorial design, assessing the influence of gliadin and casein concentrations, as well as organic and aqueous phase volumes, on particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), and zeta potential. The optimal composition with 2 % gliadin, 0.5 % casein, and a 1:5 organic-to-aqueous phase ratio, yielded nanoparticles with a 442 nm size, a 0.307 PDI, a -20 mV zeta potential, and 82 % entrapment efficiency. AmB was confirmed to be amorphous within the nanoparticles by X-ray diffraction. These NPs released AmB sustainably over 96 h, primarily in its monomeric form. Moreover, NPs maintained stability in simulated gastrointestinal fluids with minimal drug release and showed significantly lower hemolytic activity and cytotoxicity on Vero cells than free AmB, suggesting their promise for oral AmB delivery.

Gliadin nanoparticles for oral administration of bioactives: Ex vivo and in vivo investigations

This study aims to provide a thorough characterization of Brij O2-stabilized gliadin nanoparticles to be used for the potential oral administration of various compounds. Different techniques were used in order to evaluate their physico-chemical features and then in vivo studies in rats were performed for the investigation of their biodistribution and gastrointestinal transit profiles. The results showed that the gliadin nanoparticles accumulated in the mucus layer of the bowel mucosa and evidenced their ability to move along the digestive systems of the animals. The incubation of the nanosystems with Caenorhabditis elegans, used as an additional in vivo model, confirmed the intake of the particles and evidenced their presence along the entire gastrointestinal tract of these nematodes. The gliadin nanoparticles influenced neither the egg-laying activity of the worms nor their metabolism of lipids up to 10 μg/mL of nanoformulation. The systems decreased the content of the age-related lipofuscin pigment in the nematodes in a dose-dependent manner, demonstrating a certain antioxidant activity. Lastly, dihydroethidium staining showed the absence of oxidative stress upon incubation of the worms together with the formulations, confirming their safe profile. This data paves the way for the future application of the proposed nanosystems regarding the oral delivery of various bioactives.